Alicia Ostriker seizes the opportunity to take us where too few poets have been able to take us: into a domain of what our fabulists like to call the "golden years." as we live longer, we become inevitably curious about the actual texture of these late years, curious about what happens in the soul. Out of that curiosity is a new kind of poetry born, an elderstile that has passion and irony, wisdom, folly, clarity and tenderness. In her keen engagement with the self and the world, Ostriker offers us a voice and a perspective that explore the territory of seventy and beyond.
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Front Matter Front Matter (pp. [i]-[vii])https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.1 -
Table of Contents Table of Contents (pp. [viii]-[xii])https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.2 -
I -
APPROACHING SEVENTY APPROACHING SEVENTY (pp. 3-9)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.3 -
STREAM-ENTERING STREAM-ENTERING (pp. 10-10)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.4 -
INSOMNIA INSOMNIA (pp. 11-11)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.5 -
LYMPHOMA LYMPHOMA (pp. 12-12)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.6 -
THE SURGEON THE SURGEON (pp. 13-13)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.7 -
IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH (pp. 14-14)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.8 -
NEUROLOGIST NEUROLOGIST (pp. 15-15)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.9 -
FAMILY: ATTEMPTED SPEECH FAMILY: ATTEMPTED SPEECH (pp. 16-16)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.10 -
WEST FOURTH STREET WEST FOURTH STREET (pp. 17-17)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.11 -
LATE WINTER RAIN LATE WINTER RAIN (pp. 18-18)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.12
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II -
DESIRE AND JOY DESIRE AND JOY (pp. 21-21)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.13 -
THE MARRIED MAN THE MARRIED MAN (pp. 22-22)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.14 -
THE PLATEAU THE PLATEAU (pp. 23-23)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.15 -
OUR DEAD FRIEND OUR DEAD FRIEND (pp. 24-25)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.16 -
SONNETINA: THE STORM SONNETINA: THE STORM (pp. 26-26)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.17 -
HEAVEN HEAVEN (pp. 27-27)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.18 -
HONEY OF GENERATION HONEY OF GENERATION (pp. 28-28)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.19
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III -
THE BLESSING OF THE OLD WOMAN, THE TULIP, AND THE DOG THE BLESSING OF THE OLD WOMAN, THE TULIP, AND THE DOG (pp. 31-31)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.20 -
APOLLO TO MARSYAS APOLLO TO MARSYAS (pp. 32-32)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.21 -
PERSEPHONE TO DEMETER PERSEPHONE TO DEMETER (pp. 33-33)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.22 -
KALI IN THE SACKLER WING KALI IN THE SACKLER WING (pp. 34-34)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.23 -
LAÏS TO APHRODITE LAÏS TO APHRODITE (pp. 35-35)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.24 -
ARTEMIS TO APHRODITE ARTEMIS TO APHRODITE (pp. 36-36)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.25 -
DEMETER TO PERSEPHONE DEMETER TO PERSEPHONE (pp. 37-37)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.26 -
LORD KRISHNA TO THE SUMMER HANDYMAN LORD KRISHNA TO THE SUMMER HANDYMAN (pp. 38-38)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.27 -
GAIA REGARDS HER CHILDREN GAIA REGARDS HER CHILDREN (pp. 39-39)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.28 -
PRAYER IN AUTUMN PRAYER IN AUTUMN (pp. 40-42)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.29
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IV -
DRONE DRONE (pp. 45-46)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.30 -
BORN IN THE USA BORN IN THE USA (pp. 47-47)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.31 -
LISTENING TO PUBLIC RADIO LISTENING TO PUBLIC RADIO (pp. 48-49)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.32 -
LAUNDRY LAUNDRY (pp. 50-50)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.33 Just finished folding laundry. There’s the news. A slender prisoner, ankles shackled, nude back and legs striped by a brown substance you might take for blood but which probably is feces, hair long, arms extended like a dancer’s, walks toward a soldier with rolled-up pants and a gun, posed legs akimbo tough boots in the tiled corridor. I cannot say from the image if the soldier is smiling, too few pixels to tell. Barely do the prisoner’s elegant feet touch the floor. In another nude photograph a prisoner with shorter hair cowers against a wall while two dogs whose leashes...
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THE SNOWFALL THE SNOWFALL (pp. 51-52)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.34 -
TWO POEMS TWO POEMS (pp. 53-53)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.35 -
A THEME FOR CHARLES IVES A THEME FOR CHARLES IVES (pp. 54-54)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.36 -
DEAR GOD DEAR GOD (pp. 55-55)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.37 -
ALMANAC ALMANAC (pp. 56-67)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.38 -
ARS POETICA: THREE POEMS ARS POETICA: THREE POEMS (pp. 68-69)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.39 -
ZENO ZENO (pp. 70-72)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.40
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NOTES NOTES (pp. 73-74)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.41 -
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (pp. 75-75)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qh88n.42