From Library Journal
Nobel laureate Milosz states in his introduction that the purpose of this personal and eclectic collection is to present poetry that is "short, clear, readable, and...realistic, that is, loyal toward reality and attempting to describe it as concisely as possible." And for the most part, he has succeeded. The poems have a clarity and immediacy that would appeal to even the most poetry-averse reader. Most of the selections are from classical Chinese and 20th-century American and European (primarily Eastern European, Scandinavian, and French) poets. The poems are grouped by intriguing headings ("The Moment," "The Secret of a Thing," "A Woman's Skin"), and Milosz has written brief prefaces to many of them, creating an unusual sense of dialog between editor and reader. "My intention," says Milosz, "is not so much to defend poetry...but rather, to remind readers that for some very good reasons it may be of importance today." This refreshing and wise anthology is recommended for all collections.?Christine Stenstrom, Brooklyn P.L., N.Y.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
This is the second international poetry anthology to be published in as many months. The first, The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry , is organized geographically. Milosz, who, naturally, appears in the Vintage collection, has approached his work as anthologizer from a far more personal and thematic perspective. His introduction is passionate and enlivening as he guides readers toward his vision of poems as forms of enchantment, then his clustering of poems under such alluring headings as "Epiphany," "The Secret of a Thing," "The Moment," "People among People," "Woman's Skin," and "Nonattachment" deepens and extends the readers' understanding of his poetics and the poems he has so lovingly chosen. Milosz remains a vital presence throughout the volume. There are plenty of American poets here, quite a few Chinese poets, and a diverse scattering of Europeans, but place of origin isn't as significant, ultimately, as place of arrival: a poem that speaks to everyone in every land. Donna Seaman


Book Description
Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz selects and introduces 300 of his favorite poems in this “magnificent collection” that ranges “widely across time and continents, from eighth century China to contemporary americanca” (San Francisco Chronicle).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For A Book of Luminous Things Nobel laureate poet Czeslaw Milosz has selected 300 of the world's greatest poems written throughout the ages, poems memorable for how they render the realities of the world palpable and immediate. They are organized under eleven headings - including "Epiphany," "Nature," "The Secret of a Thing," "Travel," "Places," and "The Moment." In addition to his introduction, Milosz contributes brief, penetrating commentary on each poet. Among the poets included are Elizabeth Bishop, William Blake, Joseph Brodsky, Constantinos Cavafy, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Linda Gregg, Seamus Heaney, Zbigniew Herbert, Jane Hirshfield, Robinson Jeffers, D. H. Lawrence, Denise Levertov, Philip Levine, Li Po, Antonio Machado, Thomas Merton, W. S. Merwin, Sharon Olds, Mary Oliver, Po Chu-I, Rainer Maria Rilke, Theodore Roethke, Charles Simic, Gary Snyder, Wallace Stevens, May Swenson, Anna Swir, Wislawa Szymborska, Tu Fu, Wang Wei, Walt Whitman, and William Carlos Williams.

FROM THE CRITICS

One of the best general poetry anthologies to come along in years.

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