Essays on Poetry
15,30€
Winner of the 1993 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for first non-fiction work, Proofs and Theories is an illuminating collection of essays by Louise Glück, the testament of a leading poet.
Like her poems, the prose of Glück is compressed, fastidious, fierce, alert, and absolutely unconsoled. The force of her thought is evident everywhere in these essays, from her explorations of other poets’ work to her skeptical contemplation of literary critical notions such as “sincerity” and “courage.” Here also are Glück’s revealing reflections on her own education and life as a poet, and a tribute to her teacher and mentor, Stanley Kunitz. Proofs and Theories is not a casual collection. It is the testament of a major poet.
“As with her poetry, Glück’s prose is fine and pared but visionary; her intelligence is precise and earnest. […] Here and elsewhere Glück’s brevity, clarity, and resolute independence are impressive.”
“With this book, [Glück] becomes the patron saint of poets and writers, having fallen and crawled and scared herself to a position from which she reticently gives advice.”
“This first collection of [Glück’s] essays is written in a different medium [than her poetry], but it contains the same dark precision, the same spare fates and paradoxes […] Proofs and Theories is certainly a provocative book […] it is the prickly poetic testament and memoir of one of America’s finest poets.”
Louise Glück
