Böcker av Dana Gioia

Homage to Søren Kierkegaard is a new anthology composed of original poems from fifty writers of faith. The anthology was developed in honor of Rev. Ronald F. Marshall (1948-2021). Known for his labors on behalf of Seattle's hungry and homeless, Marshall was also a prolific reader and brilliant teacher whose devotion to Kierkegaard produced two major books on his muse: Kierkegaard for the Church and Kierkegaard in the Pulpit: Sermons Inspired by His Writings. Kierkegaard served as muse for the poems here gathered. When Dappled Things launched a major contest, poets were presented with Kierkegaardian paradoxes, and in response to these theological provocations an abundance of verses appeared from around the country. Judges Dana Gioia and Mary Grace Mangano selected these works from over two hundred submissions. In collaboration with the MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Wiseblood Books is pleased to present this anthology, which includes a preface by Dana Gioia and an introduction from Rev. Marshall's widow, Jane Harty.

A wondrous new collection by Dana Gioia, "one of America's premier poets and critics" (Julia Alvarez).Dana Gioia has been hailed for decades as a master of traditional lyric forms, whose expansive and accessible poems are offerings of rare poignancy and insight. In Meet Me at the Lighthouse, he invites us back to old Los Angeles, where the shabby nightclub of the title beckons us into its noirish immortality. Elsewhere, he laments the once-vibrant neighborhood where he grew up, now bulldozed, and recalls his working-class family of immigrants. Gioia describes a haunting from his mother on his birthday, Christmas Eve. Another poem remembers his uncle, a US Merchant Marine. And "The Ballad of Jesús Ortiz" tells the story of his great-grandfather, a Mexican vaquero who was shot dead at a tavern in Wyoming during a dispute over a bar tab. "I praise my ancestors, the unkillable poor," Gioia writes. This book is dedicated to their memory.Including poems, song lyrics, translations, and concluding with an unsettling train ride to the underworld, Meet Me at the Lighthouse is a luminous exploration of nostalgia, mortality, and what makes a life worth living and remembering.

In 1991, Dana Gioia's provocative essay "Can Poetry Matter?" was published in the Atlantic Monthly, and received more public response than any other piece in the magazine's history. In his book, Gioia more fully addressed the question: Is there a place for poetry to be part of modern American mainstream culture? Ten years later, the debate is as lively and heated as ever. Graywolf is pleased to re-issue this highly acclaimed collection in a handsome new edition, which includes a new Introduction by distinguished critic and poet, Dana Gioia.