New and Selected Poems (Menashe) explained

New and Selected Poems
Author:Samuel Menashe
Country:UK
Language:English
Genre:Poetry
Publisher:Bloodaxe Books
Pub Date:2009
Media Type:Print (paperback)
Pages:XXXVI + 202 pp.
Isbn:9781852248406
Oclc:708333510

New and Selected Poems is a collection of poems by Samuel Menashe, first published in 2005 by the Library of America as part of the American Poets project, after the author received the Neglected Masters Award from the Poetry Foundation. A second (expanded) edition was published in 2008. The 2009 printing by Bloodaxe Books also features a DVD of the film Life is Immense: Visiting Samuel Menashe by Pamela Robertson-Pearce.

Contents

Critical reception

David Orr, writing in The New York Times, described Menashe as a "wry but essentially optimistic poet, and his best writing demonstrates that the stylistic limitations we choose quickly cease to be limitations, even when we identify them as such", singling out Menashe's poem "The Niche" for praise.[5] David Kaufmann, writing in The Forward, noted that "Menashe might well be the most recognized unrecognized American poet of the past 40 years" but suggested New and Selected Poems "could change all that".[6] Clive Wilmer, writing in The Guardian, concurred, writing "The literary world has not been kind to Menashe, as is often the case with poets who make no claims on it" and comparing Menashe to William Blake.[7]

Notes and References

  1. First published in Metre, 7-8, 142 (2000). Download.
  2. From Book: Donald Davie. Barry Alpert. The poet in the imaginary museum: essays of two decades. registration. 4 June 2012. 1977. Carcanet New Press. 9780856351112 .
  3. Foreword to Menashe's Collected Poems, 1986.
  4. From "The Last Ditch", by Stephen Spender, The New York Review of Books, 22nd of July, 1971.
  5. Web site: A 'Neglected' Master. March 19, 2006. June 28, 2012. The New York Times. David. Orr. David Orr (journalist).
  6. Web site: A Bohemian Poet Seen in Rare Spotlight. May 12, 2006. June 28, 2012. The Forward. David. Kaufmann.
  7. Web site: A pot poured out. June 27, 2009. June 28, 2012. The Guardian. Clive. Wilmer. Clive Wilmer.