The Book of Gods and Devils

By Charles Simic

Book Overview

Loneliness, loss, sadness, and mystery mark this wonderful volume of forty-nine poems by Charles Simic, winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and praised as "one of the truly imaginative writers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times.

In these poems, the ordinary world is tilted just enough to reveal the surreal lurking beneath the surface--

Surrealist Poetry: Experience a New York City where saints and devils share the subway, a spider's web holds cosmic meaning, and a man without shoes might be a fencing master.The Immigrant Experience: Explore the profound ache of exile and the ghosts of a European past that haunt the streets of America.Philosophical Depth: Grapple with big questions in small moments, from the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas found on a park bench to the meditations of Death as a quiet philosopher.Memory and Loss: Follow fragmented memories back to a child's suit in a dusty window, a lost house key, and the "little pins" of recollection that prickle long after the moment has passed.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156135469
• ISBN13: 9780156135467
• Release Date: November 1990
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Another great piece of Simic.

Charles Simic, The Book of Gods and Devils (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990)Another fine piece of work from Mr. Simic, but this one seems the smallest of cuts below his best efforts (The World Doesn't End, Return to a Place Lit by a Glass of Milk, et al). Hard to explain why this is; I want to say it's more in the confessional mode than most of his work, but if this is the case, it's by an infinitesimal amount and would not otherwise be worth noting. Problem is, I can't put my finger on anything else.Still, when Simic is in the zone, his writing eclipses most others who have worked in the medium in the twentieth century. Take, for example, pieces from the brilliant "The Great War":"...You never saw anything as beautifulAs those clay regiments; I used to lie on the floorFor hours, staring them in the eyes.I remember them staring back at me in wonder.How strange they must have feltStanding stiffly at attentionBefore a large, incomprehending creatureWith a moustache made of milk...."Definitely another worthwhile contribution to the canon, but there are better places for the neophyte to begin. ****

An Inspiration

The Book of Gods and Devils is one of my favorite books of poetry... It's absolutely fabulous! It has a touch of melancholy, humor, to be sure, and wonderful imagery... we dance with religious icons shamelessly! Wonderful!