The Orphic Voice
Poetry and Natural History
$27.50
- Paperback
496 pages
- Release Date
24 May 2022
Summary
A wondrously written book of literary criticism and philosophy that maps the relationship between poetry and natural history, connecting verse from poets such as Shakespeare and Rainer Maria Rilke to the work of scientists and theorists like Francis Bacon and Michael Polanyi.
Taking its bearings from the Greek myth of Orpheus, whose singing had the power to move the rocks and trees and to quiet the animals, Elizabeth Sewell’s The Orphic Voice transforms our understanding of t…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781681376011 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1681376016 |
| Author: | Elizabeth Sewell, David Schenck |
| Publisher: | New York Review Books |
| Imprint: | NYRB Classics |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 496 |
| Release Date: | 24 May 2022 |
| Weight: | 367g |
| Dimensions: | 202mm x 127mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“Elizabeth Sewell’s The Orphic Voice remains a vital source book for both working poets and readers invested in poetry… . This is a book of inspiration, yet not of the self-help variety; less a handbook or practical guide than a hodgepodge of terrific quotations and spirited insight, The Orphic Voice virtually insists upon a reader who is willing to meander through its pages.” —Patrick James Dunagan, Rain Taxi
“This is an inspired book, an argument which is poetry in action. It may very well be that Elizabeth Sewell is of the visionary company which her work describes. I regard The Orphic Voice as a book of tremendous originality and importance.” —George Steiner
“Esoteric [and] engrossing … Sewell contends that poetry is our most inclusive form of thought, the best instrument yet devised for dealing with wholes, for unifying all the forms in nature, whether they pertain to inner or outer landscape.” —Stanley Kunitz
“The Orphic Voice is important both in the literature of the history of ideas and as a kind of source-book for working poets (and readers of poetry).” —Denise Levertov
About The Author
Elizabeth Sewell
Elizabeth Sewell (1919-2001) was an author and academic best known for her criticism exploring the links between literature and science. She taught at numerous universities during her career, including Vassar College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition to her books of criticism, she published several novels and poetry collections along with a memoir, An Idea, and a book of essays, To Be a True Poem.
David Schenck is a writer and academic, and was a friend of Elizabeth Sewell.
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