99 Poems: New & Selected
So much of what we live goes on inside--
The diaries of grief, the tongue-tied aches
Of unacknowledged love are no less real
For having passed unsaid. What we conceal
Is always more than what we dare confide.
Think of the letters that we write our dead.
--from "Unsaid"
Dana Gioia has long been celebrated as a poet of sharp intelligence and brooding emotion with an ingenious command of his craft. 99 Poems: New & Selected gathers for the first time work from across his career, including many remarkable new poems. Gioia has not arranged this selection chronologically but instead has organized it by theme in seven sections: Mystery, Place, Remembrance, Imagination, Stories, Songs, and Love. The result is a book that reveals and renews the pleasures, consolations, and sense of wonder that poetry bestows.
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"99 Poems: New & Selected is one of the most anticipated collections of 2016, and it does not disappoint. . . . No matter what the topic--mystery, place remembrance, imagination, stories, songs, love--or the form, these polished pieces are vibrant and inviting."--The Washington Post
"There is immense variety in these poems, but they all have in common flawless lyricism and graceful sentiment."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"A gifted poet of rhythm and reason, Gioia's civic and critical pedigree is impressive. . . . This new and selected collection marks his return to verse."--The Millions
"A force for poetry here . . . and everywhere, Gioia is richly deserving of a life's look."--The Philadelphia Inquirer
"The first thing to know about Dana Gioia . . . is the richness and range of his poetry. Thoughtfully embroidered with literary allusions, wit and natural imagery, it's alternately prayerful and playful, and occasionally Chandler-esque."--Pasadena Weekly
"In a culture obsessed with quantity and novelty, Gioia stands out for his commitment to quality. . . . Like Bach's music, Gioia's poetry is sublime enough to hold the attention of even the most distractible readers. And once he has their attention, he teaches them to name and care for their places, their neighbors, and their eternal souls."--Books & Culture
"Virtually [every poem] here resounds, like the work of another elegantly musical poet whose corpus bulks little larger than Gioia's--A. E. Housman."--Booklist *Starred Review*
"Readers searching for classically styled poetry that is unflinchingly sincere and honest will find what they need in the voice of this master poet."--Publishers Weekly
"[Gioia] offer[s] intellectual insight coupled with a becoming sincerity. . . . 99 Poems is well worth reading."--The Weekly Standard
"99 Poems is challenging, engaging, and a pleasure to read. This is poetry that opens to us the full range of the human experience; that takes us out of ourselves, yet leads us to new insights into our own lives; that leaves us more capable of accepting the truth."--The Christian Review
"Gioia's poetry reminds us again and again that the world is a mystery where the things of God wait, hidden inside the heart of the world."--Catholic World Report
"Dana Gioia [is] a poet set apart from exiguous mainstream formlessness by elastic ease in all the forms."--Cynthia Ozick
