Poetry

Summer Snow: New Poems

Summer Snow: New Poems

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  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Robert Hass
  • ISBN：0062950037
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Summary

A major collection of entirely new poems from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of Time and Materials and The Apple Trees at Olema

A new volume of poetry from Robert Hass is always an event。 In Summer Snow， his first collection of poems since 2010， Hass further affirms his position as one of our most highly regarded living poets。 Hass’s trademark careful attention to the natural world， his subtle humor， and the delicate but wide-ranging eye he casts on the human experience are fully on display in his masterful collection。 Touching on subjects including the poignancy of loss， the serene and resonant beauty of nature， and the mutability of desire， Hass exhibits his virtuosic abilities， expansive intellect， and tremendous readability in one of his most ambitious and formally brilliant collections to date。

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Reviews

Bruce Gunther ，

I'm not sure if I had to rate my top five poets that Robert Hass would make the list， but he's right there， very near。 His descriptions of the natural world are flawless。 There's so much great writing in this collection。 I'm not sure if I had to rate my top five poets that Robert Hass would make the list， but he's right there， very near。 His descriptions of the natural world are flawless。 There's so much great writing in this collection。 。。。more

Abby ，

Robert Hass would like us to know that he still thinks a lot about sex and poets in general and birds in his yard。 I like him。 Not his strongest collection， in my opinion， but I am always happy to hear what he has to say。

Peycho Kanev ，

What the Modernists Wrote About: An Informal SurveyHart Crane wrote about a bridge， and gulls in the dawn light，And a subway tunnel， trains plowing through it in the ratcheting dark，And the hobo camps along the railroad tracks in IndianaAnd the flower of a sailor’s sex floweringAnd the sweet terror of vertical longing in the horse latitudes。And Thomas Stearns Eliot， poor Tom， as his friends said，With his brilliance and his prim， squeamish Southern childhoodChanneled Baudelaire and wrote a poemAb What the Modernists Wrote About: An Informal SurveyHart Crane wrote about a bridge， and gulls in the dawn light，And a subway tunnel， trains plowing through it in the ratcheting dark，And the hobo camps along the railroad tracks in IndianaAnd the flower of a sailor’s sex floweringAnd the sweet terror of vertical longing in the horse latitudes。And Thomas Stearns Eliot， poor Tom， as his friends said，With his brilliance and his prim， squeamish Southern childhoodChanneled Baudelaire and wrote a poemAbout sexual hunger and crippling self-consciousnessThat made him very famous and refocused European poetry for several generationsAnd then， after his mentorBertrand Russell had slept with his—Eliot’s—distraught wife，He wrote a poem—“Mr。 Appollinax”—about a philosophical satyrAnd then a poem about a broken world and the terrible powerOf spring， numbness after a brutal war， and the bodiesOf working class girls washed up in the ThamesAnd the boredom and hysteria in the boudoirs of the well-off，And the memory of a riverside church—some old idea of “inexplicable splendor”—And his desire to die to his sensual lifeAnd later the memory of the laughter of children in a gardenOn a path that seemed to lead somewhere indistinctAnd probably irrecoverableAnd later again the bombs that fell like tongues of flame on London。Ezra Pound wrote about a number of subjects， as I recall，Medieval Italian banking and the Paris Metro，Among them。 Also Chinese historyAnd being imprisoned in a cage，And the mob that strung his hero Mussolini from a lamppost in Milan，And when he was younger his first taste of VeniceWhile he sat on the Dogana’s steps，And he wrote about a woman he remembered—“As cool as the pale， wet leaves of lily-of-the-valley”—Who lay beside him in the dawn。And Hilda Doolittle saw the Egyptian god AmonIn the green fields of Pennsylvania where he shoneLike the angels she needed to summon to survive the way the violenceOf the devastation of the bombed out city had shaken her and the way，As a girl， desire had shaken her， and the rhythms of Sappho。Robinson Jeffers wrote about the Big Sur headlandsAnd the hawk’s beak， and the tidal surges of the sea， and pelicans cruisingLike laden bombers down the coast near Point Pinos。And Marianne Moore wrote the greatest poemAbout a mountain in the twentieth century and called it “An Octopus。”After that， or simultaneously， she wrote a poem about marriage，The avoidance thereof。 And the pangolin and the chambered nautilusAnd the exacting work of a steeple jackIn a seaside town where a certain precision of craftWas a matter of life and death。And Bill Williams，As his friends called the doctor， except Ezra Pound who called himOle Doc Williams， even when they were young，Wrote about noticing a thirteen year old girl at the curbOn a street corner waiting for the light to changeAnd glancing down self-consciously at her new breasts，A quite different take on the subject from Eliot’s，And a girl cutting her little brother’s hair by a windowOn a summer afternoon in a neighborhood of brick tenements。And Brueghel， and wild onions， he wrote about， and the way cities burnedLike Christmas greens in the fireplace as the world war churned on。And about how the coming of spring to a bare winter fieldIn New Jersey resembled the violence of child birthAnd how he was disgusted with himself for being sexually attractedTo the half-witted girl who helped clean their house。And Wallace Stevens wrote about the Connecticut RiverAnd an early winter snowfall in HartfordAnd the way sexual magic dissipated in his lifeAnd what his Pennsylvania Dutch mother would think of his prettyAnd explicitly atheist poems—“Ach， mutter，” he wrote， “this old， black dress，I have been embroidering French flowers on it”—And the nature of imagination， and somethingAbout the fact that you can regard blackbirdsFrom several points of view。And Lola Ridge wrote about the New York ghettoIn something like the way Langston Hughes wrote about the Harlem streetsBecause he perhaps took his manner at first from herAnd from Carl Sandburg and， listening to the blues，Made it his own when he described the rent partiesAnd the suicides and the grifters， the lovers， the numbers runners，And the “boogie-woogie rumble of a dream deferred。”And Mina Loy wrote about sex that was like pigs rooting，Also， more fastidiously， the vowel sounds produced by a contemplation of the moon。And Gertrude Stein。 About was a writing。 Outwardly。 It was exceedingly about。 。。。more

Khinna ，

Just beautiful all around。

Sailor ，

Certains poèmes sont vraiment dur （sur la mort infantile， la fusillade de Pulse， la guerre， le deuil） et d'autres donnaient envie d'avoir des conversations philosophiques dans des cafés européens et de lire des poèmes en espagnol， ou encore racontaient des histoires。Les poèmes que j'ai le plus apprécié étaient ceux qui parlaient de la nature ou des amis de l'auteur， surtout quand il y abordait le deuil et les petites joies de la vie。 Certains poèmes sont vraiment dur （sur la mort infantile， la fusillade de Pulse， la guerre， le deuil） et d'autres donnaient envie d'avoir des conversations philosophiques dans des cafés européens et de lire des poèmes en espagnol， ou encore racontaient des histoires。Les poèmes que j'ai le plus apprécié étaient ceux qui parlaient de la nature ou des amis de l'auteur， surtout quand il y abordait le deuil et les petites joies de la vie。 。。。more

Adriane ，

Hass is not usually my go-to for poetry， so style-wise I admit to bias。 But fascinating work nonetheless and I loved all the historical referencing。

André ，

“The young woman brought her green wooden wagon piled high with white and blue irises to sell separately or in bunches—What is it about irises that makes you want to describe a sheaf of them as “lithe，” as if they were longlegged young women bathing togetherAfter a round of golf or tennis？”

Hannah ，

Hass is such an amazing writer。 I really loved slowly working my way through this collection and savoring each entry。 His poems are smart， understated but emotional， and intensely moving。 I'm so glad he put out this volume。 Hass is such an amazing writer。 I really loved slowly working my way through this collection and savoring each entry。 His poems are smart， understated but emotional， and intensely moving。 I'm so glad he put out this volume。 。。。more

MacKenzie Alexander ，

I really love Robert Hass， but this collection was too disjointed for me。 The changing between format and tempo left me a little worn。 It was hard to finish。 Hass is quite an elderly man now， and his poems are powerful musings on death and recollection， which I enjoyed。

Lori ，

I enjoyed some of the poems in this collection， but many failed to resonate with me。 It includes a few prose selections which are not mentioned in the book's subtitle。 While Hass writes some poetry with shorter lines， making the poems easier to read， many feature almost page-width lines。 I preferred the ones with shorter widths， and I preferred ones with topics that didn't seem like his daily journal written in poetic form。 I enjoyed some of the poems in this collection， but many failed to resonate with me。 It includes a few prose selections which are not mentioned in the book's subtitle。 While Hass writes some poetry with shorter lines， making the poems easier to read， many feature almost page-width lines。 I preferred the ones with shorter widths， and I preferred ones with topics that didn't seem like his daily journal written in poetic form。 。。。more

Jessica ，

Kind of felt like it was ramblings of different things。 Would try a different book of poems by this author。

Ian Carpenter ，

One of my treats of the year。 I'm so grateful for David Brady hipping me to Hass on here。 The writing is beautiful。 It dealt with death in a way that I found deeply moving。 I was surprised， given the darkness of our times right now and my daily consumption of death stats， that Hass' focus on death （its not his only focus） became one of the things I loved most about this collection。 He's incredible and I'll be reading EVERYTHING he writes。 One of my treats of the year。 I'm so grateful for David Brady hipping me to Hass on here。 The writing is beautiful。 It dealt with death in a way that I found deeply moving。 I was surprised， given the darkness of our times right now and my daily consumption of death stats， that Hass' focus on death （its not his only focus） became one of the things I loved most about this collection。 He's incredible and I'll be reading EVERYTHING he writes。 。。。more

Chris ，

Poetry I could understand。 Mostly about nature， friends。 Like to shake my reading up with some poetry。

❄Elsa Frost❄ ，

This whole poetry book was just so-so for me。 But I enjoyed “Small Act of Homage”， because it relies on telling the same story in 3 different ways， which makes for an enjoyable piece when we think of how many ways we can think of a piece。

Dillon Allen-Perez ，

For me this new collection felt like a slow start but part of that may have been my own state of mind。 Maybe it was fitting that I didn’t really get engrossed in the poems until summer had begun and my life had slowed down enough for me to sit peacefully and read attentively。 tRobert Hass’ poetry is powerful while also making the creation of poetry feel achievable—like something we all can， and should， do。 I forget who once defined poetry as “language that exists for the sole purpose of existing For me this new collection felt like a slow start but part of that may have been my own state of mind。 Maybe it was fitting that I didn’t really get engrossed in the poems until summer had begun and my life had slowed down enough for me to sit peacefully and read attentively。 tRobert Hass’ poetry is powerful while also making the creation of poetry feel achievable—like something we all can， and should， do。 I forget who once defined poetry as “language that exists for the sole purpose of existing”。 It’s not selling you a product， completing a business transaction， or even giving directions for how to accomplish some mundane task or chore。 It can be directions for living a good life though。 Hass’ style reads so much like it was lifted straight from the pages of his personal notebook。 That’s what makes it feel motivating， and poetry achievable。 At the same time， the information across the lines is clearly well researched and there is undeniably a sense of form that is artfully crafted。 So that appearance of natural， immediate thought is actually part of the design。 It’s a ridiculous miracle of writing that Hass so often reaches。tHass has a certain spirituality that I am drawn to。 Desire is a concept felt and investigated across many of his poems， not just in this book。 To me， he does the work of offering insights and reminders for how to practice a U。S。-Buddhism。 Meditation—following a noble path in life—is a practice。 Lines like this。 。 。tpurification: the desiretfor the cessation of desiretis a desire。。 。 。 remind me to pause， breathe， and reconsider what it means to be a good practitioner。 These lines can be found on page 91， “February Notebook: The Rains”， “A Memory”。 tIn times that test our hope， meditation is an important practice that it is far too easy to lose sight of。 “After Xue Di” tells us “There are ways of not quitting / morally。” Immediately after， “Dancing” opens “the radio clicks on—it’s poor swollen America / Up already and busy selling the exhausting obligation / Of happiness”。 tHass is also concerned with translation。 Two translations from Anglo-Saxon are in Summer Snow。 And the feeling associated with the inherent issue of translation is explored in “Large Bouquet of Summer Flowers， or Allegory of the Imagination”:。 。 。 we are hauntedOr even constituted by the teasing awarenessOf the presence in ourselves of an unreachableAnd twinned other which creates the small shockWe feel when we sense the dissimilarity in metaphorsAnd the way that a translation doesn’t feel like a twin。Hass’ attempts toward a “boundless poetics” will delight those who find pleasure and fascination in language as a uniquely human tool。 His perspectives on both language and spirituality are a delight to me， whose early interests in literature and Buddhism can be traced back to a teenage reading of an English translation of Siddhartha from Herman Hesse’s German。tIf you’re interested but unsure about how to dive into understanding and appreciating Hass’ particular approach to poetry， start from what might be the climax of Summer Snow read as a whole: “Seoul Notebook” （pages 137-144， about 80% through the book）。tThis is one of his poems that reads a lot like prose， a short non-fiction narrative in two parts。 The first part is “1。 First Day of the Conference on Peace”。 Hass describes his visit to the Institute of Korean Studies with gorgeous imagery and thought-provoking quotes from those attending the conference， lifted from his notebook。 Of course， no consensus on how to reach world peace was achieved （otherwise I’m sure you would have read this book already）。 But， the act of reading what Hass has described can bring each of us， individually， closer and closer incrementally。 This poem gives the reader plenty to think about， including even the existence， purpose， implications of such a conference attended overwhelmingly by the “mostly male， mostly middle-aged” served food and drink by young women working the event。 tThe second part is “2。 Mouths of Babes”。 One woman attending the event is the wife of a Korean professor of the philosophy of science。 She’s from Kansas so Hass can talk to her casually in English as well as her daughter， Holly。 When saying their goodbyes after the event Holly says “We’ve got to think our way to world peace。”tThere’s more depth to this when you read the whole “Seoul Notebook” poem， which I am urging you to do here。 I hope it motivates you to read more from this wondrous new collection。 There’s plenty to think about。 。。。more

Dorothy Mahoney ，

This book has been on my side table for some time now， as I pick it up randomly and read or rereada poem。 The book is divided into five untitled sections。 The first section deals with death at different ages。 There are poems about notes and notebooks。 The fourth section is three specific notebooks。 The notebooks contain some very short poems not usual for Hass whose poems are often lengthy。

David Curry ，

After reading five new collections of poetry in a row plus an annual anthology， all of which left me almost totally unengaged and at a loss to say anything remotely meaningful about them， it was deeply satisfying to take up Robert Hass’s SUMMER SNOW。 It’s his first collection since his invaluable 2010 THE APPLE TREES AT OLAMA: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS， which won the National Book Critics Circle Award， and it further secures Hass’s position as one of America’s finest living poets。There isn’t a trac After reading five new collections of poetry in a row plus an annual anthology， all of which left me almost totally unengaged and at a loss to say anything remotely meaningful about them， it was deeply satisfying to take up Robert Hass’s SUMMER SNOW。 It’s his first collection since his invaluable 2010 THE APPLE TREES AT OLAMA: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS， which won the National Book Critics Circle Award， and it further secures Hass’s position as one of America’s finest living poets。There isn’t a trace of obscurantism or deliberate obfuscation in Hass。 He’s more knowledgeable than most of us， but he never tries to overwhelm us with， just shares， his knowledge。 He consistently delivers to the reader the same clarity that he evidently wants for himself。 
Here’s “Abbott’s Lagoon， October”:The first thing that is apt to raise your eyes
Above the dove-grey and silvery thickets
Of lupine and coyote bush and artichoke thistle
On the sandy， windy path from the parking lot
To the beach at Abbott’s Lagoon is the white flash
Of the marsh hawk’s rump as it skims low
Over the coastal scrub。 White-crowned sparrows
Loud in the lupine even in October， even
In the drizzly rain， startle and disappear。
And the burbling songs and clucks of the quail
That you may or may not even have noticed you were noticing
Go mute and you are there in October and the rain，
And the hawk soars past， first hawk， then shadowOf a hawk， not much of a shadow in the rain， low sun
Silvering through clouds a little to the west。
It’s almost sundown。 And this is the new weather
At the beginning of the middle of the California fall
When rain puts at end to the long sweet days
Of our September when the skies are clear， days mild，
And the roots of the plants have gripped downInto the five-or-six-month drought， have licked
All the moisture they are going to lick
From the summer fogs， and it is very good to be walking
Because you can almost hear the earth sighAs it sucks up the rain， here where mid-OctoberIs the beginning of winter， which is the beginningOf a spring greening， as if the sound you are hearingIs spring and winter lying down in one another’s arms
Under the hawk’s shadow among the coastal scrub，
Ocean in the distance and the faintest sound of surf
And a few egrets bright white， working the reeds
At the water’s edge， in October in the rain。Now read that again aloud。 You’ll want to do that often with Hass， savoring his vowels and consonants and his closeness to the informal but definite rhythms of American speech， but speech of the most careful and reverent if often playful order。 From the beginning of his career， with the 1973 Yale Series of Younger Poets selection FIELD GUIDE， Hass’s work has been distinguished by his keen and affectionate eye for the landscapes， leaves， weather and patterns of the natural world。 （I tell myself that he would probably enjoy knowing that at one time my mnemonic for remembering his name， now indelible， was the word “avocado。”） From “Nature Notes”:People study everything。 The excrement
Of beetles。 The sonic niches of the blackbird’s song，And the sexual excesses of the cottonwood
Which pours thousands of seeds into the air。
So I know that for one to germinate， it has to alight
In moist， sandy soil。 A sandbar in the curveOf a little alpine creek would be just right。Hass is not above an occasional poem in which he seems to be just horsing around。 Surely you and I， unlike certain stuffed-shirt critics， can welcome and enjoy this。 Nor is he averse to bringing the social and environmental issues of our times into his poetry， as in “The Greech Notebook” and “Seoul Notebook。” These also will probably annoy the stuffed shirts， who insist that poetry must forever be above the fray。Hass’s latest collection is a strong addition to a mighty body of work。 。。。more

E。 ，

"Good readingis acute listening。 It modelsthe transformation of othernessthat is the mystery at the heart of ordinary kindnessand also the possibility of a moral life。"--from the Robert Hass poem "Seoul Notebook"I had never read Hass before。 This new volume was well reviewed in a recent New Yorker so I ordered it as part of my quarantine binging on poetry。 This is some of the easiest to read poetry I've ever read， moving at a pace and syntax closer to prose in many of the poems。 I found myself r "Good readingis acute listening。 It modelsthe transformation of othernessthat is the mystery at the heart of ordinary kindnessand also the possibility of a moral life。"--from the Robert Hass poem "Seoul Notebook"I had never read Hass before。 This new volume was well reviewed in a recent New Yorker so I ordered it as part of my quarantine binging on poetry。 This is some of the easiest to read poetry I've ever read， moving at a pace and syntax closer to prose in many of the poems。 I found myself reading long sections of the book instead of only a few poems at a time， like I often do with poetry。The themes of the poems vary， including the Sierras， death， aging， peace movements， other writers， and more。Also， interestingly， the poem quoted above， "Seoul Notebook，" ends in a hotel in Kearney， Nebraska。 。。。more

James ，

A new collection by the former Poet Laureate and Pulitzer prize winner。 As he ages， of course， he looks back， recalling a lot of people who have passed on （there are so many mentions of people who are dead now）， contemplating loss and beauty。 Some of the political poems are the strongest in the collection， including a lovely poem about his experience at a peace conference in Korea and a protest at a military complex。

Laurel ，

This is one of the best works of poetry I have read in a long time。 He covers current events， current cultural ideas， and the essence of poetry。 Highly recommend。

Ellen ，

really wonderful poetry。 puts you right there。 Not as great as Mary Oliver or Joy Harjo， different， more classical， but very enjoyable。

Danielle ，

This was incredibly difficult to finish。 I read it over the course of a few days and often reread poems from the day before， because as soon as I put this down I had absolutely no memory of it。Hass' imagery stuck out at some points， but I found his work super boring overall。 I know that I typically lean towards a more modern style of poetry， but I was really frustrated at how little meaning I was getting out of his work， especially given how much effort I was putting into reading this。 This was incredibly difficult to finish。 I read it over the course of a few days and often reread poems from the day before， because as soon as I put this down I had absolutely no memory of it。Hass' imagery stuck out at some points， but I found his work super boring overall。 I know that I typically lean towards a more modern style of poetry， but I was really frustrated at how little meaning I was getting out of his work， especially given how much effort I was putting into reading this。 。。。more

Jeff ，

The reviews I've read -- by Chiasson and Heather Treseler -- struggle to grasp the strange tension expressive of this volume's myriad forms and occasions。 For Chiasson the tension remains between expansion and compression， the poet of his fine essay， "Images，" and the epic poet of California， of the long meditations that put him on the poetry-world map。 For Treseler， Hass remains an Orphic poet， by which， she seems to mean， one struggling to "[address]， with the seemliness of lyric， the baby boo The reviews I've read -- by Chiasson and Heather Treseler -- struggle to grasp the strange tension expressive of this volume's myriad forms and occasions。 For Chiasson the tension remains between expansion and compression， the poet of his fine essay， "Images，" and the epic poet of California， of the long meditations that put him on the poetry-world map。 For Treseler， Hass remains an Orphic poet， by which， she seems to mean， one struggling to "[address]， with the seemliness of lyric， the baby boomers’ search for fulfillment — in art and erotic love; in science and psychotherapy; and in their own seasons of mating and molting" -- this is， of course， contemptuous， "OKBoomer"-ish， as its diction signals。 More to paraphrase， Treseler says the Ophic struggle is to "know oneself and one's pleasures。" Treseler's thematic analysis hearkens back all the way to 1980， when the poet Alan Shapiro wrote a take-down of Praise in which Shapiro essentially claimed Hass couldn't be the poet he was trying to be -- that， in brief， he didn't know himself。 Summer Snow is organized and formatted with lots of space inserted into the poems of five sections that offer a loose coherence to almost 20 （and maybe more） years of work; this， despite that it's only been 10 years since Hass's previous volume， The Apple Trees of Olema （with its uncollected work appearing alongside Hass's collected poems）。 Hass has got poems here that he's written at Squaw Valley （where he and his wife host a summer conference）; he's got reporter's accounts of conferences he's attended in Europe， South Korea and elsewhere; traveler's diaries of trips taken with Code Pink （another of his wife Brenda Hillman's commitments）; and elegies for writers remembered and admired， some he's known， some he's merely been acquainted with。 In short， Robert Hass is a literary man; a California poet; and a writer-translator who， as we all do， is trying to keep himself going。 Hass's idea of a literary man is closest， in my mind， to Paul Goodman， the American philosopher of anarchism; poet-novelist-social critic; playwright of the avant garde， and gestalt psychologist （Hass knew him at Berkeley）。 Amid all these activities， Goodman was a fine poet， but his poetry changed once he published Growing Up Absurd in 1960， a critique of the youthful American males so prescient that Goodman became ubiquitous on college campuses and among the activist communities of the counterculture。 He became， at that point， very much an occasional poet。 （His ideas about "occasional poetry" were influential on Frank O'Hara。） He would not let his writing practice suffer for his having to hop on a plane and deliver a lecture somewhere。 This， I feel （without evidence， other than this volume）， is Hass' mode currently。 The mode wrecks havoc with Hass the California poet， whose model for writing California poems is Robinson Jeffers， in particular， Jeffers' Tehachapi pastorals of the late Twenties， like "The Loving Shepherdess，" the erotic premises of which Hass shares。 The first part of the book is uneven， but has nature poems like "To Be Accompanied by Flute and Zither，" as well as the orphic "A Person Should，" that use Jeffers' double plot to startling narrative effect。 The votary for the public writer just trying to keep going is Chekhov， so preoccupied in the East， who had in his own notebooks that Japanese lightness so inimical to the conflation of truth and art。 Haikai means， just so， comic。 A comic much different from the heaviness of Shapiro's Talmudic serio-comedy。 Hass's notebooks cull a poem like "February Notebook: The Rains" that I think is superb。 。。。more

Keith Taylor ，

Again， loving another Hass book！ I am just so happy this poet is among us。 Here's a short review I wrote:https://www。nyjournalofbooks。com/book。。。 Again， loving another Hass book！ I am just so happy this poet is among us。 Here's a short review I wrote:https://www。nyjournalofbooks。com/book。。。 。。。more

Nicholas ，

In my dreams， I am。。。

Claudia Skelton ，

A collection of new poems by a poet of many awards and a former U。S。 poet laureate。 The poems are intelligent and discuss nature， loss and desire。 I particularly enjoyed the author's personal assessment of the meaning of poetry and the impact on his personal life。 A dear friend loaned me a copy of this book and I am pleased。 A collection of new poems by a poet of many awards and a former U。S。 poet laureate。 The poems are intelligent and discuss nature， loss and desire。 I particularly enjoyed the author's personal assessment of the meaning of poetry and the impact on his personal life。 A dear friend loaned me a copy of this book and I am pleased。 。。。more

Ross ，

A book of entirely new poems by Haas， a former Poet Laureate of the United States （1995-97）。 The poems discuss such topics as the volatility and intrinsic beauty of nature， dealing with loss at various stages in life， and meaning of desire。 The poems are intelligent， intricate and beautiful。 We found this advance copy of this book （coming out in early 2020） at a little library in our neighborhood。 I really enjoyed the majority of the poems and will read more by Haas。 3 1/2 stars！

Niklas Pivic ，

Itō Jakuchū smeared a paste of egg yolkAnd white paint on the back of his scrollsAnd then crushed oyster shell to another pasteAnd added carmine for the rooster’s crestHe painted into the soft silk。Smuggled Prussian blues from Europe （There was a Tokugawa trade embargo）For the way light looked on plums。 I’m not a vast lover of poetry。Naturally， that fact is not due to poetry， but to how I have found poetry; it’s all in my head， as with my inability to love fusion jazz， mud， and war。OK， fair enoug Itō Jakuchū smeared a paste of egg yolkAnd white paint on the back of his scrollsAnd then crushed oyster shell to another pasteAnd added carmine for the rooster’s crestHe painted into the soft silk。Smuggled Prussian blues from Europe （There was a Tokugawa trade embargo）For the way light looked on plums。 I’m not a vast lover of poetry。Naturally， that fact is not due to poetry， but to how I have found poetry; it’s all in my head， as with my inability to love fusion jazz， mud， and war。OK， fair enough; I do love some jazz。What I do have an issue with is when poets use hard words or obtuse references that don’t really pay off。On the other hand， I do like it when poets use words for perfect fit。I’ve not read anything that Hass has written previously， but the introduction to this book， which is a collection of poems as divided into several different parts， made me doubt that I would enjoy it; name- and place-dropping littered the initial poems， which gives off an iffy scent that signals “I am learned。 I am good at what I do。 See my excellence。”To myself， that is。Hass’s style changes dramatically from the poems that are about Afghanistan and the Soviet Union。 Those longer， more in-depth ones， where Hass has shed the name-dropping， that’s lovely。 For example:And if you read good books well， it will wake in youA desire to say what you mean。At least it did in me。The things that you read that matter to you，The things they call your influences，are the books That introduce you to yourself，and they will lead，Or ought to， to a patient persistent attemptTo say what you mean。”Another note reads: “You have to write blind to eventually see clearlyWhat your subject is。”A close， humid roomIn the middle of Tennessee in the middle of July。Outside you could not tell if the green humIn the old live oaks was generating the insect buzzOr the buzz was generating the green hummingIn the air that was indistinguishable，When you walked in it， from the soakedOdor of the summer grass。I was an outsiderTo what I took to be this transaction in heritage。 It’s a calm， long gaze into a field of green， this is。 If I forget the first fifth of the book， which I nearly do， I will be left with the memory of a poetry collection that is both potent and rises。 At its worst， this book is a bit haughty to me， but then again， I don’t get fusion jazz。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Summer Snow: New Poems

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Summer Snow: New Poems&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Summer Snow: New Poems&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0