99 Poems

Title:
99 Poems New & Selected
| Price | $24.00 |
- Hardcover
One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2016
2016 Denise Levertov Award
A Quivering Pen Best Poetry Collection of 2016
2016 Denise Levertov Award
A Quivering Pen Best Poetry Collection of 2016
“99 Poems: New & Selected is one of the most anticipated collections of 2016, and it does not disappoint. . . . No matter what the topic—mystery, place remembrance, imagination, stories, songs, love—or the form, these polished pieces are vibrant and inviting.”—The Washington Post
About the Book
A major career retrospective by award-winner Dana Gioia, “well on the way to becoming a classic poet” (Booklist)
So much of what we live goes on inside—
The diaries of grief, the tongue-tied aches
Of unacknowledged love are no less real
For having passed unsaid. What we conceal
Is always more than what we dare confide.
Think of the letters that we write our dead.
—“Unsaid”
The diaries of grief, the tongue-tied aches
Of unacknowledged love are no less real
For having passed unsaid. What we conceal
Is always more than what we dare confide.
Think of the letters that we write our dead.
—“Unsaid”
Dana Gioia has long been celebrated as a poet of profound intelligence and powerful emotion, with lines made from ingenious craftsmanship. 99 Poems: New & Selected for the first time gathers work from across his career, including a dozen remarkable new poems. Gioia has not ordered this selection chronologically. Instead, his great subjects organize this volume into broad themes of mystery, remembrance, imagination, place, stories, songs, and love. The result is a book we might live our lives alongside, and a reminder of the deep and abiding pleasures and reassurances that poetry provides us.
Additional Reviews
“There is immense variety in these poems, but they all have in common flawless lyricism and graceful sentiment.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Dana Gioia [is] a poet set apart from exiguous mainstream formlessness by elastic ease in all the forms.”—Cynthia Ozick
“[Gioia] offer[s] intellectual insight coupled with a becoming sincerity. . . . 99 Poems is well worth reading.”—The Weekly Standard
“A force for poetry here . . . and everywhere, Gioia is richly deserving of a life’s look.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Readers searching for classically styled poetry that is unflinchingly sincere and honest will find what they need in the voice of this master poet.”—Publishers Weekly
“Gioia’s poetry reminds us again and again that the world is a mystery where the things of God wait, hidden inside the heart of the world.”—Catholic World Report
“Virtually [every poem] here resounds, like the work of another elegantly musical poet whose corpus bulks little larger than Gioia's—A. E. Housman.”—Booklist *Starred Review*
“99 Poems is challenging, engaging, and a pleasure to read. This is poetry that opens to us the full range of the human experience; that takes us out of ourselves, yet leads us to new insights into our own lives; that leaves us more capable of accepting the truth.”—The Christian Review
“A gifted poet of rhythm and reason, Gioia’s civic and critical pedigree is impressive. . . . This new and selected collection marks his return to verse.”—The Millions
“The first thing to know about Dana Gioia . . . is the richness and range of his poetry. Thoughtfully embroidered with literary allusions, wit and natural imagery, it’s alternately prayerful and playful, and occasionally Chandler-esque.”—Pasadena Weekly
“In a culture obsessed with quantity and novelty, Gioia stands out for his commitment to quality. . . . Like Bach's music, Gioia's poetry is sublime enough to hold the attention of even the most distractible readers. And once he has their attention, he teaches them to name and care for their places, their neighbors, and their eternal souls.”—Books & Culture
“An all-around winner.”—The Harvard Crimson
“These lines are a statement about beautiful poetry written in beautiful poetry, and are also a strong argument for Gioia’s place as one of the finest poets of his era. There is something to admire in virtually every poem in this book, and individual readers will find their own favorites that they will remember and return to.”—Able Muse
“Gioia is an engaging, philosophical, and humorous reader. He knows how to hold his audience rapt by bringing his words alive.”—Writing Without Paper
“99 Poems is an important collection by an important poet.”—The Claremont Review
“Gioia, in the mechanism of service, has always raised the bar of poetry with his intellectual brand of firepower. . . . [99 Poems] includes the truest personal narrative we’ve had to date. . . . This book is a marriage of values: writing done exceedingly well; and a heart deeper and stronger than ever. Gioia has earned his stay in poetry’s future.”—Washington Independent Review of Books





