KNOCK UPON SILENCE

by Carolyn Kizer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 1965

Founder and editor of Poetry Northwest, contributor to The New Yorker, the Atlantic, Paris Review, poet of The Ungrateful Garden, Carolyn Kizer has long been involved with Chinese poetry. Most of the poems here either directly reflect or directly transform that poetry. ""Chinese Imitations"" include three poems written in the style of Po Chu-I, one modeled on a poem of Emperor Wu-Ti, two based on themes in the Book of Songs. They are slightly Westernized, slightly more awkward than the actual translations in the last part of the book, where she mirrors the vivid grace of ""Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe,"" the subtle rhythms of ""Meandering River Poems"", the classic strictness of the harsh ""Testament"" of Tu Fu. In between come ""A Month in Summer,"" recording the end of a love affair partially in haiku; and the caustic castigation of the female poet, ""independent but maimed,"" who yet must be free, in ""Pro Femina,"" where stridency rather than grace obtains.

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION