Explore the latest books of this year!
Bookbot

Alice Notley

    Grave of Light
    Runes And Chords
    Mysteries of Small Houses: Poems
    The Descent of Alette
    Disobedience
    Coming After
    • 2024

      A memoir in verse from one of America's legendary poets In a New York Times review of Alice Notley’s 2007 collection In the Pines, Joel Brouwer wrote that “the radical freshness of Notley’s poems stems not from what they talk about, but how they talk, in a stream-of-consciousness style that both describes and dramatizes the movement of the poet’s restless mind, leaping associatively from one idea or sound to the next.” Notley’s new collection is at once a window into the sources of her telepathic and visionary poetics, and a memoir through poems of her Paris-based life between 2000 and 2017, when she finished treatment for her first breast cancer. As Notley wrote these poems she realized that events during this period were connected to events in previous decades; the work moves from reminiscences of her mother and of growing up in California to meditations on illness and recovery to various poetic adventures in Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, and Edinburgh. It is also concerned with the mysteries of consciousness and the connection between the living and dead, “stream-of-consciousness” teasing out a lived physics or philosophy.

      Being Reflected Upon
    • 2023

      Ephemeral and anarchic, Runes and Chords is the first collection of artwork by famed poet, critic and artist Alice Notley. These sketches, drawn on an iPad and first serialized on Notley’s Twitter feed, are a fascinating window into an evolving practice, collages of flowers and poetry, the white space of digital creation and overlaid colors erupting from the page. They defy containment and category, much like their creator—each a second in a day, an afternoon or evening in Paris, a thought so transient it can only exist in the medium of social media. With this collection, one of America’s most influential living poets and artists continues to prove her worthiness of that title.

      Runes And Chords
    • 2020

      For the Ride

      • 144 pages
      • 6 hours of reading
      3.7(60)Add rating

      A major new book-length visionary poem from a writer "whose poems are among the major astonishments of contemporary poetry" (Robert Polito, the Poetry Foundation) Alice Notley has become one of the most highly regarded figures in American poetry, a master of the visionary mode acclaimed for genre-bending, book-length poems of great ambition and adventurousness. Her newest book, For the Ride, is another such work. The protagonist, "One," is suddenly within the glyph, whose walls project scenes One can enter, and One does so. Other beings begin to materialize, and it seems like they (and One) are all survivors of a global disaster. They board a ship to flee to another dimension; they decide what they must save on this Ark are words, and they gather together as many as are deemed fit to save. They "sail" and meanwhile begin to change the language they are speaking, before disembarking at an abandoned future city.

      For the Ride
    • 2016

      Certain Magical Acts

      • 147 pages
      • 6 hours of reading
      4.0(207)Add rating

      An important new work of poetry from Alice Notley, winner of the 2015 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize Alice Notley has become one of the most highly regarded figures in American poetry, a master of the visionary mode acclaimed for genre-bending book-length poems of great ambition and adventurousness. Her newest work sets out to explore the world and its difficulties, from the recent economic crisis and climate change to the sorrow of violence and the disappointment of democracy or any other political system. Notley channels these themes in a mix of several longer poems - one is a kind of spy novella in which the author is discovered to be a secret agent of the dead, another an extended message found in a manuscript in a future defunct world - with some unique shorter pieces. Varying formally between long expansive lines, a mysteriously cohering sequence in meters reminiscent of ancient Latin, a narration with a postmodern broken surface, and the occasional sonnet, these are grand poems, inviting the reader to be grand enough to survive, spiritually, a planet's ruin.

      Certain Magical Acts
    • 2011

      Culture of One

      • 160 pages
      • 6 hours of reading

      This collection beautifully portrays the stark beauty and tranquil atmosphere of the Southwest American desert. Through evocative imagery and thoughtful reflections, it invites readers to experience the unique landscapes and quietude of this region, highlighting its natural splendor and emotional resonance. The work delves into themes of solitude and connection to nature, offering a meditative exploration of the desert's austere yet captivating essence.

      Culture of One
    • 2011
    • 2008

      Grave of Light

      New and Selected Poems 1970-2005

      • 388 pages
      • 14 hours of reading
      4.2(19)Add rating

      This collection showcases the powerful voice of a visionary feminist poet, highlighting themes of empowerment, identity, and social justice. The selected poems reflect a deep engagement with personal and collective experiences, offering insights into the struggles and triumphs of women. Through evocative language and vivid imagery, the poet challenges societal norms and inspires readers to embrace their own narratives. Each piece serves as a testament to resilience and the transformative power of poetry in advocating for change.

      Grave of Light
    • 2007

      A bold and strikingly original new work from one of America's greatest living poetsAlice Notley is considered by many to be among the most outstanding of living American poets. Notley's work has always been highly narrative, and her new book mixes short lyrics with long, expansive lines of poetry that often take the form of prose sentences, in an effort "to change writing completely." The title piece, a folksong-like lament, makes a unified tale out of many stories of many people; the middle section, "The Black Trailor," is a compilation of noir fictions and reflections; while the shorter poems of "Hemostatic" range from tough lyrics to sung dramas. Full of curative power, music, and the possibility of transformation, In the Pines is a genre- bending book from one of our most innovative writers.

      In the Pines
    • 2005

      Coming After gathers critical pieces by acclaimed poet Alice Notley, author of Mysteries of Small Houses and Disobedience .Notley explores the work of second-generation New York School poets and their Ted Berrigan, Anne Waldman, Joanne Kyger, Ron Padgett, Lorenzo Thomas, and others. These essays and reviews are among the first to deal with a generation of poets notorious for their refusal to criticize and theorize, assuming the stance that "only the poems matter." The essays are characterized by Notley's strong, compelling voice, which transfixes the reader even in the midst of professional detail. Coming After revives the possibility of the readable book of criticism.

      Coming After
    • 2001

      Disobedience

      • 304 pages
      • 11 hours of reading
      4.4(224)Add rating

      Exploring themes of femininity, aging, and the poet's role in society, this collection features interconnected poems that engage in a dialogue with a seedy detective. Composed over fifteen months, the work delves into the visible and unconscious experiences of a woman in France facing her fiftieth birthday. Notley's radical approach and candid reflections challenge societal norms, making her one of today's most compelling female poets.

      Disobedience