Facing Nature

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, American
Cover of the book Facing Nature by John Updike, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Updike ISBN: 9780307961945
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Publication: April 25, 2012
Imprint: Knopf Language: English
Author: John Updike
ISBN: 9780307961945
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication: April 25, 2012
Imprint: Knopf
Language: English

John Updike’s fifth collection of poetry faces nature on a number of levels.  An opening section of sonnets touches upon death, aging, and, in a sequence of describing a week in Spain, insomnia and dread.  The poems that follow consider nature in the form of seasons, of planting trees and being buried, of shadow and rain, of pain and accumulation, and of such human diversions as art and travel.  The last poem here, and the longest in the book, undertakes a walking tour of each of Jupiter’s four major moons, a scientific excursion that leads into the extravagant precisions of the “Seven Odes to Seven Natural Processes,” a lyrical yet literal-minded celebration of some of the earthly forces that uphold and surround us.  Finally, a dozen examples of light verse toy with such natural phenomena as presbyopia, the energy crunch, food, and sex.  Like the best of the metaphysical poets, Mr. Updike embraces the world in all its forms and creates conceits out of the casual as well as the moments.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

John Updike’s fifth collection of poetry faces nature on a number of levels.  An opening section of sonnets touches upon death, aging, and, in a sequence of describing a week in Spain, insomnia and dread.  The poems that follow consider nature in the form of seasons, of planting trees and being buried, of shadow and rain, of pain and accumulation, and of such human diversions as art and travel.  The last poem here, and the longest in the book, undertakes a walking tour of each of Jupiter’s four major moons, a scientific excursion that leads into the extravagant precisions of the “Seven Odes to Seven Natural Processes,” a lyrical yet literal-minded celebration of some of the earthly forces that uphold and surround us.  Finally, a dozen examples of light verse toy with such natural phenomena as presbyopia, the energy crunch, food, and sex.  Like the best of the metaphysical poets, Mr. Updike embraces the world in all its forms and creates conceits out of the casual as well as the moments.

More books from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Lifeguard by John Updike
Cover of the book Take on the Street by John Updike
Cover of the book American Heiress by John Updike
Cover of the book Taking Lives by John Updike
Cover of the book As She Climbed Across the Table by John Updike
Cover of the book The Right Hand of Sleep by John Updike
Cover of the book Mucho Mojo by John Updike
Cover of the book Keepers by John Updike
Cover of the book Babyhood by John Updike
Cover of the book Nowhere Man by John Updike
Cover of the book Charcoal Joe by John Updike
Cover of the book Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? by John Updike
Cover of the book Hobby of Murder by John Updike
Cover of the book Scent of Darkness by John Updike
Cover of the book The Rathbones by John Updike
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy