A Book Of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry

In this 1996 anthology of international poetry, Milosz presents us with what he calls “short, clear, readable and, to use a compromised term, realist, that is, loyal to reality and attempting to describe it as concisely as possible.” (p. xv) He presents this anthology as his effort to manage what he sees as the estate of poetry, free from attachment to any one country, school of poetry, or century. Milosz asserts this as something critical that needs to be recognized about poems, from whatever country, in whatever era. In this volume, he presents more than 300 poems worthy of the appellation luminous things. Milosz arranged the poems into ten sections, each containing a healthy explanation for the catalog. Here are my abstracts of each section:• Epiphany: an unveiling of reality; an intuitive search for a deeper more essential meaning of a thing.• The Secret of a Thing: showing how difficult it is for the poet to take him/herself outside of the poem in order to present an object as itself.• Travel: expressing the elementary human need to break out of the confines of what is known to find wonder in the unexplored• Places: the characteristic of strangeness found in places that are temporary homes, but not home.• The Moment: how fragile the present moment, like a photograph, what was but not what is.• People Amongst People: the human predilection to see, interpret, judge, and feel the events in our world; the basic emotions of love, hate, fear, admiration, loathing.• Woman’s Skin: on how women describe themselves.• Situations: the many colored tapestry of diversity and multi-cultural aspects of life, history, time and place.• Non-Attachment: to mull over the role of the self as active or contemplative. History: the commitment to the political aspect of life and changes the 20th Century has had on poetry. Another observation was the marked affinity for Chinese poets in this anthology. Many more entries are given to Chu-I Po, Fu Tu, and Wei Wang than to any other individual poet. I believe this is a reflection of what Milosz sees as the goal of this anthology, as noted at the beginning of this paragraph. He acknowledges this partiality, explaining “What attracts me to Chinese poets most is their ability to draw with a few dashes a certain situation.” (p.148) What struck me most was the intense, personal attachment Milosz demonstrated for these chosen poems. Almost every poem is graced with a short introduction by Milosz, reading like conversational commentary on why the poem was chosen, what to look for in the poem, or his personal attraction to the poem. These introductions gave me the feeling that I was meeting someone’s best friends. This made the book most accessible. I sat in my favorite chair as I reached for the book, curled up under a wool shawl, ready and open to meet new, old friends.The inclusion of this anthology broadened my world of poets. Many of the poets were unknown to me. Milosz seemed to almost deliberately exclude the major poets that would be expected in such a volume. I actually found this to be a way for me to get off of the beaten path and wander country roads and towering hi-rises that were delightful in their newness, filled with wonder and surprise. I came away from reading this with a sense of the world as a larger place than live in, yet of being a part of this universal world. I was given glimpses of the timelessness of poetry, the history of this art. These readings both expanded and contracted the universe, for me. And I came away from all this reading with two somewhat contradictory thoughts: the universe is so much wider than our own view of it, and, we all walk in the same river, but different. A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry

Czeslaw Milosz was a powerful poet himself; here he has shown his considerable ability as an editor by gathering an accessible collection of gems that anyone interested in the genre would enjoy. In general, the poems selected are relatively short--not many are over a page in length--but potent. This anthology is very much about understanding the human experience. Milosz seems to be closely focused on poets who have managed to capture fleeting slices of the real world around them concisely, but in a manner that illuminates and explicates that awe-inspiring world in human terms.The poems range from those by obscure 8th Century Chinese poets to contemporary masters such as Wisława Szymborska and W.S. Merwin. The translations of the non-English poets is superlative, and Milosz introduces almost all of his selections with his own comments and insights about the poet or poem. Moment by moment, each poem offers fresh imagery and pithy insight into the lives of human beings and their connection to the enigmatic, mysterious world that envelops them. I don't mean to imply that Milocz is aiming at some kind of new age spirituality here, although some of the individual poems may point in that direction. Rather, he seems to be offering insights of incisive and thoughtful writers on the human condition--a tall order, but well-executed in this volume.Overall this is one of the best poetry anthologies I have encountered. These are wonderful poems, from a broad range of poets, periods, and nationalities. The beauty and power of the individual poems selected should, I think, appeal to just about any reader, including those who are not ordinarily interested in poetry.

Perhaps the late 20th C great anthology! Milosz is catholic in his taste, while yes, his selection is luminous. Middle European verse joins American, and the presence of major Chinese poetry haunts the volume - and not just the great names of the T'ang such as Du Fu and Po Chu-i, but less well known masters such as Mei Yao Ch'en:In broad daylight I dream IAm with her. At night I dreamShe is still at my side. SheCarries her kit of coloredThreads. I see her image bentOver her bag of silks. SheMends and alters my clothes andWorries for fear I might lookWorn and ragged. Dead, she watchesOver my life. Her constantMemory draws me towards death.Rumi is there, and Cavafy; Rilke and Anna Swir. If I try to think of who is missing I can but find two names, Borges and Li He (Li Ho). But even without these two, it's a wonderful collection!

I wanted a book of poetry, poems I hadn't read before, as a tool to relax me for bedtime. This book is a very nice compliation of poetry from writers all over the globe and spanning many eras.Milosz did a fine job of pulling the poems together, and included his own comments on the poets and/or poems. I found that to be quite helpful at times, although his commentary appears above the poems. I'd rather that he had put his own writing after the poem, as I prefer to read the poem first. However, that is the only thing that would lower the score for me, as far as the anthology itself.I was a tiny disappointed that the book wasn't a tad bit smaller, to make it easier to hold while laying in bed, but that isn't too much of a big deal.Overall, if someone wants a fresh anthology of poetry to read, yes, I would recommend this book.

Selection of the poems good

This book contains various kinds of poems. Not only poets in the UK and United States, but also Asian and European countries. Another good point is that these poems are categolized in some themes. It is usuful to pick up one.

This is by far my favourite poetry anthology. The selection comes predominantly from ancient Chinese and 20th century poets (so most are quite short, and in naturalistic language), and encompasses a wide range of subjects and styles. I come back to it over and over, and always find something new. The short commentaries are insightful and easy to read, and the layout of each poem allows plenty of white space on the page (which I believe to be very important when reading poetry). If I were cast away on a desert island and were allowed to have just the one book with me - this would be it. Buy and enjoy!

a great introduction to various types and various scenes of poetry around the world

Nice anthology focusing on the spiritual side of things, I would say, great choice of poems though.