Product Description
An anticipated new volume from Marie Howe whose "poetry is luminous, intense, eloquent, rooted in abundant inner life" (Stanley Kunitz).

Hurrying through errands, attending a dying mother, helping her own child down the playground slide, the speaker in these poems wonders: what is the difference between the self and the soul? The secular and the sacred? Where is the kingdom of heaven? And how does one live in Ordinary Time—during those periods that are not apparently miraculous?

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 3 reviews)

Underwhelming

Marie Howe's "Kingdom of Ordinary Time" suggests that poetry of ordinary experience elevated only slightly by (often predictable) turns of irony may have run its course. These poems don't resonate as does the best of Howe's earlier work; only the occasional poem invites a second reading. I looked forward keenly, but found myself let down. There will be an audience for this collection since Howe handles language so skillfully, but there is little here to startle the reader into enthusiasm.
August 14, 2008

Another masterpiece from Marie Howe

I have had the pleasure of attending a poetry workshop taught by Ms. Howe, during which I came to know her work. Over the course of three summer days, she stuck to her line of "Poetry is telling something to someone" during her coaching, and that same belief shows up in her work. In Marie Howe's poetry, you can see countless moments when the spiritual, the beyond, touches the everyday. And isn't that the task of poetry? To bridge the gap? The death of a mother, being shocked into a realization by a child's continual questioning - these are things we all experience, and Ms. Howe captures the moments in both subtle and intense ways with her words. An excellent collection of poetry and follow-up to her award-winning What the Living Do. I just wish the gap between publications hadn't been ten years!
March 26, 2008

The Ordinary becomes Extaordinary

Howe's poems are suffused with a sense of light and longing that is tangible. Stunning in their depth and for the sharpness of their turns. At once as simple and complex as life and oh so rich. These are the kind of poems you will want to read again and again discovering more about the poems and yourself with each reading. Highly recommended.
March 04, 2008

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What the Living Do: Poems
by Marie Howe

The Good Thief: Poems (National Poetry Series)
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Time and Materials: Poems 1997-2005
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