Sign-In
Cart
Tonesmith: One Hundred Poems, 2012-2016
Paperback
Publisher Price: $23.00
ISBN13: 9781943826308
Publisher: Antrim House
Published: Apr 28 2017
Pages: 164
Weight: 0.55
Height: 0.38 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Tonesmith is Al Basile's second collection of one hundred poems, following 2012's A Lit House. As in that book he often writes about experiences of his earlier life, often acknowledging the change in perspective brought about by the passing of the years. As Rhina Espaillat notes:
These poems include autobiographical rites of passage, regrets and celebrations, personal and family memories, immigrant folklore, travel impressions, encounters with revered musicians and sports figures, and ambiguous lessons learned...The very title of the book identifies the author as a music-maker determined to be heard, and as a poet whose first concern is achieving the tone in which he wants to be heard by the reader.
His mostly lyric or narrative poems are generally in blank verse and of varying stanza lengths which recall his beginnings as a fiction writer. A lifelong musician and performer, he uses musical devices throughout his work in a manner that's most noticeable in the audio performances of the poems which can be accessed by readers through a link provided in the book. In these performances the poems take on added dimensions of rhythm, tempo, and vowel and consonant colorations at a higher, more specific level than they imply on the page, and it's his belief that the poems are like a musical score which is most fully realized in performance.
With an introductory essay by Christopher Ricks.
As Dana Gioia said of Al's first book A Lit House, Al Basile's poems have style, joy, and - above all - verve. Sometimes they unfold with the lyric expansiveness of great jazz solos. Sometimes they shine as beautifully jeweled miniatures. What a pleasure to read a book of poems with such unabashed energy.
Also in
General Poetry
Dante's Vita Nuova, New Edition: A Translation and an Essay
Alighieri, Dante
Pitavy, Francois
Paperback
Sounding the Seasons Enlarged Edition: One Hundred and Ten Sonnets for the Christian Year
Guite, Malcolm
Paperback
They Bloom Because of You: Poems on the Infinite Love, Growth, and Magic of Motherhood
Urlichs, Jessica
Paperback
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Lao Tzu
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
This Is the Main Event: Discovering the Life You Long for in the Life You Have
Smith, Joshua Luke
Hardcover