THE STONE HARP

by John Haines ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 1971

The 45 poems here are arranged in three parts -- ""On Nature,"" ""America,"" and ""Signs."" The first theme is paramount and it is celebrated in many ways: ""A magpie is watchman of the cloudworks;/ he flies up and down/ the black and white holes of his wounds,/ made whole in a cloud of grey feathers."" One must overlook a certain fragmented quality that comes across occasionally and flaws some of the poems. And there is an almost desperate use of color -- colors are simply everywhere (""yellow water,"" ""blue cheek of eternity,"" ""red shadow,"" ""brown river""). Many of the poems deal with a restless America fighting to change, and despite the despair Haines sees all around, he can assert ""I believe in this stalled magnificence,/ this churning chaos of traffic,/ a beast with a broken spine. . . ."" All in all, the poems are dynamic, sometimes strange, often surrealistic and full of surprises.

Pub Date: March 25, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Wesleyan Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION