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New Books - 06/06
Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salomé: The Correspondence, translated by Edward Snow and Michael Winkler ($39.95 Norton) An illuminating introduction precedes 360 pages of letters between the poet and his lover, mentor, and confidant. Rilke's first letters, from 1897, express his romanticized crush on the woman 14 years his senior. Andreas-Salomé influenced Rilke considerably, writing in 1901, "your dark god. can provide what I can no longer provide for you. the grace to reach sun and ripeness." These are beautiful letters, charting a complex relationship that lasted through Rilke's short life. The translators provide helpful context between letters, and 46 pages of notes end the book.
Memory Piano, by Charles Simic ($22.95, Univ. of Michigan) The latest volume in the Poets on Poetry Series is a collection of essays, reviews and memoir pieces by the wry and wise Mr. Simic. Born in Yugoslavia but a resident of the U.S. for many years, he brings a unique sensibility to contemporary poetry criticism, drawing the reader's attention to writers less well known in America, like the Romanian author Norman Manea, or presenting American icons, such as Robinson Jeffers, in a new light. Simic's personality shines through, at least the one we've come to know on the page -- unassuming, skeptical, forthright but not caustic, with a dark sense of humor. He's good company.
Forth a Raven, by Christina Davis ($14.95, Alice James) Ms. Davis's first book is a collection of spare and haunting poems that seem to be built of wit. "She said, I love you. // He said nothing. // As if there were just one / of each word and the one / who used it, used it up." Her eye is keen, and her ability to translate vision into language is remarkable, as with: "The ravens continue the rabbit, ravenously. // Above it, sky / is like a blackboard // written on with erasers." This is an odd, calmly electric book; very polished for a first work.
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