Morning Poems

"Morning Poems is a sensational collection -- Robert Bly's best in many years. Inspired by the example of William Stafford, Bly decided to embark on the project of writing a daily poem: Every morning he would stay in bed until he had completed the day's work. These 'little adventures/In Morning longing, ' as he calls them, address classic poetic subjects (childhood, the seasons, death and heaven) in a way that capitalizes fully on the pun in the book's title. These are morning poems, full of the delight and mystery of waking in a new day, and they also do their share of mourning, elegizing the deceases and capturing the 'moment of sorror before creation.' Some of the poems are dialogues where unconventional speakers include mice, maple trees, bundles of grain, the body, the 'oldest mind' and the soul. A particularly moving sequence involves Bly's imaginative transactions with a great and unlikely precursor, Wallace Stevens. The whole is a fascinating and original book from one of our most fascinating authors."

-- David Lehman

This collection explores the quiet moments before the world wakes:

• A Daily Poetic Practice: Inspired by William Stafford, each poem is a "little adventure" captured in the quiet moments before the day begins.
• Meditative Poetry: Enter into surprising dialogues with the soul, the body, maple trees, and mice, exploring the depths of the self and the universe.
• Nature and the Seasons: A profound work of nature poetry that finds meaning in childhood memories, the turning of the seasons, and the cycles of life and death.
• Elegiac Verse: These poems embrace both "morning" and "mourning," elegizing what is lost while finding the delight and mystery in each new day.
• Literary Conversation: Includes a particularly moving sequence on the great American poet Wallace Stevens, exploring a fascinating imaginative transaction.

Robert Bly's books of poetry include The Night Abraham Called to the Stars and My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy. His awards include the National Book Award for poetry and two Guggenheims. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota.