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The Waters Under the Earth
The London Times Literary Supplement described Robert Siegel's poetry as "unpretentious versatility," "like returning to the mainland after a tour of the islands." In this latest collection of poems, Siegel brings his remarkable range and technical mastery to bear on the mysteries of creation - wolves, slugs, moles, fireworks, mowing - all hauntingly interwoven with mythical themes.
- GenresPoetry
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
About the author
Robert Siegel
65 books15 followersRobert H. Siegel (born 1939 in Illinois) was an American poet and novelist. He wrote four books of poetry and five children's novels. He died of cancer in 2012.
Source: Wikipedia.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 16, 2016
The way I judge a book of poems is whether I want to read it again. And I do.
January 21, 2020
Chewing on it, skating across it, darting inside, suddenly whisked away, distracted, bemused, cast into deep reverie, brought up short, peering curiously, delighted.
This is fun poetry and deep poetry. You can glide through all of creation (moles, aphids, cows, mussels, you name it), you can wrestle with old forms (not even John Donne imagined that a sonnet was a basset hound), glimpse profound religious commentary (the breathtating 'A Notable Failure'; or 'Going On', a measured response to Larkin's 'Church Going'), be struck by particular landscapes, and in the final section be transported back into human fragility and warmth with an octet in memory of his father, which opens:
I
From here I carry him upon my back.
He is no longer heavy, though sometimes I
stumble over grief. In fact he is
thin as the wing on an October fly,
seen through as if not there at all, but
a certain light suddenly ablaze,
a transparent map of all my life.
He's here, and his voice runs through
my bones and through the roots of my hair.
This is fun poetry and deep poetry. You can glide through all of creation (moles, aphids, cows, mussels, you name it), you can wrestle with old forms (not even John Donne imagined that a sonnet was a basset hound), glimpse profound religious commentary (the breathtating 'A Notable Failure'; or 'Going On', a measured response to Larkin's 'Church Going'), be struck by particular landscapes, and in the final section be transported back into human fragility and warmth with an octet in memory of his father, which opens:
I
From here I carry him upon my back.
He is no longer heavy, though sometimes I
stumble over grief. In fact he is
thin as the wing on an October fly,
seen through as if not there at all, but
a certain light suddenly ablaze,
a transparent map of all my life.
He's here, and his voice runs through
my bones and through the roots of my hair.
June 16, 2009
Was glad to have this when I was told to read two poems aloud every day.
May 14, 2014
Maybe 3.5. I really loved a bunch of it. But some of it was ok.
November 19, 2014
Delightful. Siegel is creative and versatile, and his understated, quiet poetry is a pleasure to read. Plus, he had a whole section on individual animals at which my inner biologist sang.
January 18, 2009
Really good.
October 27, 2009
Pretty good. Especially section three.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews