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Theories and Apparitions

Mark Doty

$29.99

Paperback

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English
Jonathan Cape Ltd
15 October 2008
The latest collection of poetry by the winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize and author of the critically-acclaimed My Alexandria.

In this, his eighth book of poetry, Mark Doty's subjects - our mortal situation, the evanescent beauty of the world, desire's transformative power and poetry's ability to give shape to human lives - echo and develop. The first poem, 'Pipistrelle', is a typically eloquent disquisition on the art of communication prompted by the flight of a bat - 'an inky signature too fast to trace' - and is followed by an extraordinary series of meditations and variations on this theme.

The poet listens to cicadas, to Handel, to the calling of birds, to Juan the loquacious Mexican taxi driver; he steeps himself in the colour and incident of the streets and subways of New York City; he goes for a never-ending chi-gong massage and is visited by the shades of Berryman and Whitman.

As the images accumulate and cohere, guided by Doty's unique style - both plainspoken and sophisticated, both wry and profound - we arrive at a new understanding of the way we live and the world we live in. He shows us what we love and its magnificent fragility - that 'the house of beauty is a house of flames' - and we see, once again, why he is regarded as one of America's most recognisable and most significant poets.
By:  
Imprint:   Jonathan Cape Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 7mm
Weight:   95g
ISBN:   9780224085281
ISBN 10:   022408528X
Pages:   64
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Mark Doty is the author of more than ten volumes of poetry and three memoirs. His many honours include the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Whiting Writers' Award, a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award, and, in the UK, the T. S. Eliot Prize. He is a professor at Rutgers University and lives in New York City.

Reviews for Theories and Apparitions

Doty's impressive range of gifts are all on show here Guardian Doty's ability to meditate on the profound moments in life that co-exist in seemingly mundane situations is inspirational Aesthetica Doty's new collection is immensely enjoyable, and as technically rich as ever Times Literary Supplement Succinct and moving... Effortlessly done, condensing his soul searching into neat and beautiful soundbites The List Moving, splendidly observant, and unflinching, Mark Doty's poems extend the range of the American lyric poem American Academy of Arts and Letters


  • Short-listed for T S Eliot Prize 2008
  • Shortlisted for T S Eliot Prize 2008.

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