The Daily Mirror
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Book Overview
Following in the footsteps of such poets as Emily Dickinson, William Stafford, and Frank O'Hara, David Lehman began writing a poem a day in 1996 and found the experience so rewarding that he continued for the next two years. During that time, some of these poems appeared in various journals and on Web sites, including The Poetry Daily site, which ran thirty of Lehman's poems in as many days throughout the month of April 1998.
For The Daily Mirror, Lehman has selected the best of these "daily poems" -- each tied to a specific occasion or situation -- and telescoped two years into one. Spontaneous and immediate, but always finely crafted and spiced with Lehman's signature irony and wit, the poems are akin to journal entries charting the passing of time, the deaths of great men and women, the news of the day. Jazz, Sinatra, the weather, love, poetry and poets, movies, and New York City are among their recurring themes.
A departure from Lehman's previous work, this unique volume provides the intimacy of a diary, full of passion, sound, and fury, but with all the aesthetic pleasure of poetry. More a party of poems than a standard collection, The Daily Mirror presents an exciting new way to think about poetry.
For The Daily Mirror, Lehman has selected the best of these "daily poems" -- each tied to a specific occasion or situation -- and telescoped two years into one. Spontaneous and immediate, but always finely crafted and spiced with Lehman's signature irony and wit, the poems are akin to journal entries charting the passing of time, the deaths of great men and women, the news of the day. Jazz, Sinatra, the weather, love, poetry and poets, movies, and New York City are among their recurring themes.
A departure from Lehman's previous work, this unique volume provides the intimacy of a diary, full of passion, sound, and fury, but with all the aesthetic pleasure of poetry. More a party of poems than a standard collection, The Daily Mirror presents an exciting new way to think about poetry.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0684864932
ISBN13:9780684864938
Release Date:January 2000
Publisher:Scribner Book Company
Length:160 Pages
Weight:0.50 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"
Related Subjects
PoetryCustomer Reviews
3 ratings
A Poem A Day
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
A magnificent collection of poems -- each one a shiny little jewel! The world comes alive through date references, NYC locales, and the fertile imagination of David Lehman! Who do YOU see in the Daily Mirror?
The Universal Found in the Verse of Particulars
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
The Daily Mirror is David Lehman's writing at its finest. So many of the poems move as water falling and turning, fluid and full of surprise. His sense of the poetic line and his innovative use punctuation (almost none) blossom into moments that hold and propel the reader. He uses the timing of poetry in concord with the pace of a life moving and moved by people, images, and ideas. The world of particulars in his verse captures a time (our time) that the reader will want to return to again and again. These poems read like a treasure hunt that never ends. Everyone will have their favorite day in this book of daily poems.
Absolutely fantastic!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I am not surprised that "The Daily Mirror" is fantastic. I have yet to meet a poem by David Lehman that I don't like. That being said, I'm still deeply pleased by how much I like this book. These poems are so full of joie de vivre that every time I read one I find myself smiling. The poems in "The Daily Mirror" are terrific in part because of their immediacy. As daily poems they comprise a kind of poetic journal; they are crafted out of the everyday. What's great is that they also transcend the mundane; they're made of ordinary stuff, but they're *poems*, with the heightened consciousness and precise language that poems require. These poems are witty and intelligent and creative and funny and sad. I recommend them highly.
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