{"product_id":"hang-gliding-from-helicon","title":"Hang-Gliding from Helicon","description":"When Daniel Hoffman published a brief volume of selected poems in England, the \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e praised \"\"his zestful verbal performance, supple use of rhyme and other sound effects\"\" that \"\"make the processes of his writing interesting.\"\" That same vitality and interest inform \u003ci\u003eHang-Gliding from Helicon, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich presents more than forty new poems and a generous selection from six of Hoffman's previous books. Commenting on the most recent of these in the \u003ci\u003eSouthern Review, \u003c\/i\u003eMonroe K. Spears wrote, \"\"Hoffman's new volume seems to me to establish his claim to the title of major poet.\"\" In the \u003ci\u003eNew Republic,\u003c\/i\u003e Josephine Jacobsen observed: \"\"Three major strands knit into a strong texture: myth, history, and immediate experience . . . What he once wrote of Robert Graves is true of his own work: both combine 'A Dionysian compulsion to belief with an Apollonian clarity of presentation.'\"\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the opening piece of this volume, entitled \"\"The Poem,\"\" Hoffman writes:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrue to itself, by what craft\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And strength it has, it has come\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a sole survivor returns \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the steep pass.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Carved on memory's staff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The legend is nearly decipherable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It has lived up to its vows\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf it endures\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The journey through the dark places\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e To bear witness,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Casting its message\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In a sort of singing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHoffman's poetry is a celebration of life, yet some of his poems have dark implications. \"\"The City of Satisfactions\"\" is a journey into the haunted heart of the American dream. \"\"The Center of Attention\"\" portrays a suicidal man being taunted by a crowd to jump from a bridge, and \"\"Witnesses\"\" explores the aftermath of a car wreck on a desolate stretch of rural highway.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEach of Hoffman's poems represents a striking response to the moments of being alive. \u003ci\u003eHang-Gliding from Helicon \u003c\/i\u003eaffirms the power of poetry to make possible the acceptance and transformation of life. Daniel Hoffman has given us a remarkable statement of his deep poetic faith.","brand":"Louisiana State University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55807327895896,"sku":"9780807114537","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780807114537_2c144f98-2807-49f1-bad7-d92e7e5404da.jpg?v=1778014835","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/hang-gliding-from-helicon","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}