The Darkness Around Us Is Deep: Selected Poems of William Stafford

by William Stafford

Book Overview

Bestselling author Robert Bly selects his favorite works by the award-winning poet William Stafford. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060969164
• ISBN13: 9780060969165
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Traveling Through the Dark

Traveling Through the Dark is one of my all time favorite poems. I first read it when I was a freshman in high school and have admired it ever since. This is not to say that this is the only decent poem he wrote. All his poems are very good. If you are looking for some new poetry, read William Stafford.

A Fine Selection

Robert Bly offers a fine collection of William Stafford's work. Bly's affection and respect for Stafford shines in the introduction, which offers insights that will help many readers more fully access Stafford's work. For me, the poems themselves radiate the power and strength of gentleness and simplicity. As Stafford writes in "By a River in the Osage Country: " You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about." The selection is rich with Staffords imaginal reflections on family, his children, his parents, and the simple mysteries of the world. These are poems of moral intelligence expressed with great integrity. This is what we mean when we say a person is "grounded." The volume concludes with the classic "A Ritual to Read to Each Other," a stirring affirmation of courage and authenticity - a touchstone in an age of denial and fearful people lying to each other.