Whereas

by Stephen Dunn

Overview

In wise and masterful poems, Stephen Dunn “reveals a deep understanding of human longing and the desire to become more than what we are” (Washington Post).

Incisively capturing the oddities of our logic and the whimsies of our reason, the poems in Whereas show there is always another side to a story. With graceful rhythm and equal parts humor and seriousness, Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Dunn examines the difficulties of telling the truth, and the fictions with which we choose to live. Finding beauty in the ordinary, this collection considers the superstition and sophistry embedded in everyday life, allowing room for more rethinking, reflection, revision, prayer, and magic in the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393254686
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/21/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	440 KB

About the Author

Stephen Dunn (1939–2021) was the author of nineteen poetry collections, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Different Hours. He was a distinguished professor emeritus at Richard Stockton University and received an Academy Award in Literature, among many other honors.

Table of Contents

A Card from Me to Me xi

I

Propositions 1

Creatures 2

Moon Song 3

In Order to be True to Life 4

If it's True 6

Call Them All In 7

In the Land of Superstition 9

An Evolution of Prayer 11

The Invisible Man Blues 12

Unnatural 13

Emergings 15

II

Whereas the Animal I Cannot Help But Be 19

The Problem 20

Give Me 22

At the School for the Deaf 24

The Famous Man 26

The Architect 28

In Other Words 29

Come Visit 30

Even the Awful 31

If Dark Clouds 32

Be Careful 36

Nothing Personal 38

The First Person 40

III

Ambush At Five O'Clock 43

Why We Need Unions 45

Slippages 46

Men Falling 47

The Melancholy of the Nude 49

The Owner of the Boutique at Redwood Falls 50

Impediment 51

For some a Mountain 52

One Night at Mama Sorrento's 54

In Distress 55

The Revolt of the Turtles 56

Always Something More Beautiful 58

Let's Say 59

A Short History of Long Ago 61

Editorial Reviews

12/19/2016
Pulitzer Prize–winner Dunn (Lines of Defense) explores the subjunctive mood in his 18th collection, probing the what-ifs, counterfactuals, and beliefs from which we build our lives. “A claim without a ‘but’ in it/ is, at best, only half true,” Dunn writes in the sly and seemingly effortless “Propositions,” whose self-negating assertions recognize the difficulty of telling the truth. Indeed, truth telling often seems less important to Dunn than useful fictions. “Which one of us doesn’t need some kind/ of magic to help navigate and go on,” he asks in “In the Land of Superstition,” a place “where black cats tend to live longer/ than their allotted nines.” At other moments, however, Dunn shows interest in being less deceived: “Some truths are better than others,” he asserts in “Call Them All In,” “which means, of course, some are worse.” At worst, Dunn’s short lyrics can seem slight or uninspired, falling short of those truths he seeks. But at their best, these poems deliver wisdom that is disquieting and surprising, reminding readers of language’s frailties as well as our own. “What makes us think the dead/ want evidence of our caring?” Dunn asks in a poem about a funeral. “Those who choose to speak/ will discover it takes other words/ to say the words they mean.” (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"A bold and elegant conversation with wisdom itself.… A complex guidebook to contemporary life. These poems explore life’s contradictions and mysteries while creating light from the dark spaces of death and doubt.… Triumphant."

Martinsburg Journal (WV)

"Everyday experiences become a springboard for deeper reflection about what it means to be alive and how people alter their perceptions of the world and themselves over time.… The best writing here reveals a deep understanding of human longing and the desire to become more than what we are."

Washington Post

"Occasionally one of our best poets gets even better. In Whereas, Stephen Dunn tells the truth about lying and (perhaps) tells lies about what constitutes truth. No one else uses abstraction as affectively or as wisely. No one else uses humor with such devastating charm. Dunn negotiates the labyrinthine simplicities that deepen our lives with deft maneuverings and always surprising clarity."

Michael Waters

"A bold and elegant conversation with wisdom itself. . . . A complex guidebook to contemporary life. These poems explore life’s contradictions and mysteries while creating light from the dark spaces of death and doubt. . . . Triumphant."

The Journal

"This collection is one in which we journey through the text and… come to the other side renewed."

Colorado Review

"Stephen Dunn has long known how to begin a poem so it sounds like part of a conversation, how to move the poem along by following its own curiosities, and how to deliver just enough wisdom at the end. He’s still doing it all right here, better than ever, in this fresh new collection."

Billy Collins

"[Dunn’s] poetry continues to overturn expectations.… Wit resides in such overturning, as does wisdom."

Solstice

"There’s a deep and reliable honesty that drives these poems, a kind of courageous revelation."

Robert Wrigley

★ 03/01/2017
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Dunn (Different Hours) has given poetry lovers yet another reason to read his work. In this latest, Dunn writes, "There was so much to worry about/ and only a few heroes to right/ all the wrongs." This is not a heavy-handed collection of pronouncements, yet much of Dunn's verse seems prophetic in today's divisive society. Don't be fooled; Dunn takes aim at everything, especially our search for meaning in a culture of posttruth and too much news, some of it skewed. He does it with humor, wit, and a dose of gravitas, grasping detail and nuance, from the value of everyday objects to sharks pretending to be dolphins to the need for unions and the silence of the moon. In language that is both elegant and smart, the poet examines subjects large and small, from death and the underworld to a humorous riff on being invisible. "I'm not trying to inform you, my friend, about what/ you already know. ...I need to talk to/ ...someone/ who still believes the future has a chance."VERDICT A timely and necessary addition to general poetry collections.--Karla Huston, Appleton, WI

Library Journal