Refusing Heaven

I love this book...I frequently carry it around in my bag and simply open it to a page and read...he is lovely...uses simple language in ways that will break your heart!

Poems by somebody wise, but also sad and disillusioned, who stubbornly seeks to turn the ugliness of passing time into something of beauty, into something worth remembering. A dead lover makes an occasional, ghostly appearance, tethering the poet to loss and memory. God also visits the poems, but without ever truly impressing the poet in the end.

beautiful poems !!!!

Poor Jack Gilbert... Even my poetry prof hadn't heard of him. He pours his heart out in each poem (which are mostly written as mini-narratives). Sometimes funny, always heartbreaking. The man deserves a lot more credit (although I doubt he cares either way). He's my favorite, and he should be yours too. Go do something with your worthless life and pick this book up.

Gilbert's most recent book of poetry requires a combination of mindfulness and lightheartedness to be fully enjoyed. It is a book that spans landscapes, both geographical and emotional--it is a book about growing older and seeing the world through the eyes of a person wise enough to know he knows very little. The poems are written in a voice both humble and certain--a tricky combination--and the...more

Gilbert's most recent book of poetry requires a combination of mindfulness and lightheartedness to be fully enjoyed. It is a book that spans landscapes, both geographical and emotional--it is a book about growing older and seeing the world through the eyes of a person wise enough to know he knows very little. The poems are written in a voice both humble and certain--a tricky combination--and the language is startling without being overdone.   hide

One of my favorite poetry books. This goes with me almost everywhere. Kind of like a handbook to life in its plain-spoken sensibilities and its poetic dignities.