Reviews for Passing Through: The Later Poems, New and Selected

The average rating for Passing Through: The Later Poems, New and Selected based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-07-31 00:00:00 Demetre Kirizopoulos I always loved the poetry of Stanley Kunitz, but I cannot remember why. I think he was read at every poetry workshop I went to. But I got most of the way through this book (except for one poem) before I began loving his poetry again. A good poem nearly made me cry-about a beached whale. Beautifully written but heartbreaking nonetheless. This one is beautifuuly written but still hard to decipher. The Sea, That Has No Ending (by Stanley Kunitz) Who are we? Why are we here, huddled on this desolate shore, so curiously chopped and joined?' broken totems, a scruffy tribe! How many years have passed since we owned keys to a door, had friends, walked down familiar streets and answered to a name? We try not to remember the places where we left pieces of ourselves along the way, whether in ditches at the side of foreign roads or under signs that spell FOR HIRE or naked between the sheets in cheap motels. Does anybody care? Let's just say I like my poetry accessible, and there are a few of those here, in the last chapter of the book mainly. At the end I found in the back "NOTES," which I wish I had known were there to start with. It may have made it more enjoyable for me. One thing I've found with poetry for me is my mood really alters how much I enjoy the poem. Far be it from me to criticize one of the best poets of the 20th century.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-12-20 00:00:00 Christopher Svanberg That a white Jewish man can write poetry that resonates with a brown Sri Lankan woman; this is a beautiful thing. It affirms, for me, the transforming power of words.