Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Half genius. Half... not.
Tess Gallagher, Dear Ghosts, (Graywolf, 2006)

Tess Gallagher, when she's writing intensely personal, imagist poems, is perhaps one of America's better poets currently working. And about half of Dear Ghosts, is comprised of exactly this sort of thing. Unfortunately, the reader must also contend with the other half of the book, which treads, and sometimes falls flat on its face over, the line of message poetry, over which very few poets can walk and still produce anything even remotely related to poetry. Worth reading, but beware a few pitfalls here and there. ***

The Best of American Poetry
You can do nothing better for yourself than to read Dear Ghosts,.Tess Gallagher has always been among the best of American poets.Her most recent work continues to add jewels to the crown of great poetry.As the poems engage us, we become aware why poetry is so necessary to the human spirit.Dear Ghosts, opens us to emotion.Within its enacted drama, we walk the difficult but necessary terrain of reaching out to others, thereby realizing ourselves.Finally, Gallagher explores the frontier of language itself, continually reminding us that in words we discover self.The best books of poetry, no matter how deeply we linger and meditate, no matter how we value them for their ability to yield in reading after reading, are also page-turners, and this is a book, once begun, you won't want to put down.And one you'll pick up again, year after year.--Alice Derry, Peninsula College

She just keeps on getting better
A book of poems by Tess Gallagher is an event. They're beautifully presented and beautifully written. And they are powerful. The poet doesn't seem satisfied to write about pretty things; she wants her poems to matter. And they do. Poems about murderers and refugees and sad, tragic lives; poems about war and childhood and marriages and joy; and poems about the dead (those "dear ghosts"): a sparrow, her father, her mother, her husband. This is a book to savor. Read it slowly, then read it again. And again. It's so easy to miss the nuances, the subleties. Tess Gallagher writes of enormous themes, and she does so in small and striking language - intimately. You will devour this book and crave to "take the next bite / and say, I believe it."

Featuring poems in which ghosts of the past are summoned and discoursed with in the present day
Published fourteen years after the author's previous poetry book, Dear Ghosts is the seventh collection and long-awaited return of Tess Gallagher's poetic voice. Featuring poems in which ghosts of the past are summoned and discoursed with in the present day, Dear Ghosts speaks with such spectral figures as the deceased beloved, the long-dead father, and victims of holocaust and war. Gallagher confronts her own aging, illness, and mortality with grace, modesty, and good humor in this insightful and reflective collection. "Knives in the Borrowed House": Don't sharpen them. / Expectation, more dangerous / than any blade.
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Amazon.com
Tess Gallagher's poems in this collection chart the painful road of mourning, memory, and change following the death of her beloved husband, fiction writer Raymond Carver.From feelings of sharing death to memories of valentines they gave each other, and then in an upward arch through Zen imagery of cherry blossoms and curved bridges, Gallagher's poems come to no easy rest on the banks of a new life and new loves. But for all those who have experienced tragedy, the poems relate a common assurance that a crossing into survival can be reached.Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

simply beautiful
WOW!!!!! what imagery, heart and beauty..Tess Gallagher's tribute
book to her deceased husband Raymond Carver,is the words of a grieving angel.."Deaf Poem" is my favorite.moon over bridge will
go down in history as one of the great book of poems dealing with
love,lost and renewal again..and i couldnt help thinking after reading it,how truly blessed Mr Carver was to have a love like
Tess in his life..and every man would be blessed to have a lady
love themjust a tenth as much as she did..and does..pick up
this book!!!!!you wont regret it..

Moon Crossing
This is a great book of poems written near the time of her husband's death.I read the review of this book and purchased it for a friend whose husband had died.Now, 5 years later, she still tells me how much she loved this book and how much it meant to her.This is a great book.It is particularly wonderful for someone who has lost their husband.

Poems certainly worthy of highest praise...
The passion and imagery contained in this book of highly personal poems astounds! I hope Ms. Gallagher's book will gain the recognition it deserves. To allow us to come so close to the poet seems to be a rarity inmuch of today's poetry. This incredible sharing will grab you and not letgo.Our thanks to Ms. Gallagher . . .

An extraordinarily complex and daring book of elegies
Gallagher, whose decade-long relationship with the great short story writer Raymond Carver ended with Carver's early death to cancer in 1987, has written a masterpiece. Largely underrecognized, Moon Crossing Bridgehas yet to receive its full due as one of the most deeply thoughtful andpassionate poetic works on the subject of loss to emerge in recent memory.Gallagher has allowed the language that rose from her grief to carry herinto the mystery that constitutes the borderland between the dead and thoseleft behind. Her words sway like the tough threads of a hammock strungbetween the two worlds, holding us aloft as we allow ourselves to riskbelief in paradoxical truths: that in the poetic universe to whichGallagher holds fast, a loved one can be truly with us and truly not withus at once, and loss and horror and delight can coexist in a strangeharmony. In Gallagher's extraordinary book, the dark basin of terrible lossis not only inhabited, it is rich in hues and textures and possibilities.Using images culled as much from her travels around the world with Carveras from her years spent both with and without him in the Pacific Northwest,with this volume Gallagher has given a rare gift to those of us with lossin our backgrounds. She has journeyed as a shaman does, to map thatenduring human trek from overwhelming pathos to multidimensional, evenjoyful, insight -- with unfailing courage and honesty. One day Gallagherwill be seen for the unparalleled talent she is. For now, we who read anddo the work to understand her words can be among a privaleged group offierce and well-rewarded fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Honest.Superior word craft and imagery keep coming.
Tess Gallagher is a blessing. Readers who have experienced a rich essential quality of living will find the resonate voice of an ageless girl underneath powerfully assembled words.This collection was handed to me by a stranger in a coffee shop in Tacoma, Washington, who said only, "here, have a book of poetry." On a quick reading it seemed like superficial, self indulgent, girlish poetry. But this is not the I, me, you, we, weep at me stuff that fills chap books and keeps vanity presses in business.In this case it only serves to, very cleverly and even handedly, disguise, or vale, the soul of writer.Later the work began to unfold its complexity and came to life right out of the page.The balanced, well tempered blending of the metaphorical and the concrete and a fairly consistant cadence, the ability to play with syntax and meaning, twisting words and sentences into unpredictable and surprising contortions only enhance the necessary meaning of the work and give it life in the minds eye where all good poetry is born.

Tess is soft, sweater soft, but don't let that fool you. She is solid, like a rock.A remarkable woman. ... Read more

Book Description
Tess Gallagher is best known as a distinguished poet. She also collaborated on the film Short Cuts, based on the short stories of her late husband, Raymond Carver. But in this luminous collection of short stories -- her second -- she establishes herself as a fiction writer of the first order.

Set primarily in the Northwest, where the author was born and has lived for many years, these stories tell how people do more than cope with the hard turns and snares of their lives. We watch them take the unexpected next step as they face their dilemmas. Gallagher invents wholly original characters and renders them with lyrical intensity. As with the great short stories of Flannery O'Connor, Gallagher's prose animates the themes of love, human pain, and healing.

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Customer Reviews (1)

great short stories
This collection of short stories is one of the best i have ever read.Mostly set in the northwest Gallagher captures the ideals and characteristics of most northwest residents.Her stories reflect themindset of this part of the country.She writes about logging, wildlife,and just general everyday life.She is the best. ... Read more

Book Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to cram for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Poetry for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by Thomson Gale--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: author biography; poem summary; poem text (if available); discussion of the work's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Poetry for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: Thomson Gale--and "Poetry for Students."Download Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to bone up for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Poetry for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by the Gale Group--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: author biography; poem summary; poem text (if available); discussion of the work's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Poetry for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: The Gale Group--and "Poetry for Students." ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Tess Gallagher, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2719 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Customer Reviews (1)

Powerful, elegant, simple, insightful
Gallagher's The Lover of Horses is an honest, yet graceful portrait of what makes us who we are.The title story shows the connection between human beings in a very powerful way.In my opinion this is the mostwell-written story in the text, demonstrative of Gallagher's immense talentin writing stories that are powerful because of their spareness. "Recourse" demonstrates the importance of living day-to-day. "The Woman Who Saved Jesse James" is a story about finding allthe "selves" that we are and becoming the "self" wewant to be.Each of these stories illustrates the process of interiorevaluation we go through as humans.They ask "Which part of us is theessential self?"Gallagher opens up the power of choice and how thisaffects who we become.Each story connects with our "humanness",as we see that grace comes to the humans in Gallagher's stories, even inthe most unexpected ways. Julia M. Hawley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Swept Away!
She has a voice I've never heard before that I've needed to hear for a long, long time. There is unflinching lucidity here and honesty. "Each Bird Walking" takes no prioners. "The Hug" is."If Poetry Were Not a Morality" is my memory too. The Fireman fromBrooklyn glitters with hard truth

A lovely book!!!
This is one of my favorite books of poetry.Ms. Gallagher's style (phrasing, imagery) is very unique and her voice is both strong and delicate.You will not be disappointed with this book.

Powerful images, delicately written about
This book is a collection of poems from "Under Stars," "Instructions to the Double," "Willingly," and several dozen new poems. It's lovely, a joy to read. My favorites are from "Under Stars," and the poem "Under Stars," is worth the price of the book itself. Tess Gallagher's poems are stunning and strong, with such delicate phrasing. A must-read if you enjoy poetry. ... Read more

Book Description
The eloquent American poet Tess Gallagher discusses the loss of her husband Raymond Carver and the life of a writer with the prolific Japanese novelist and Buddhist nun, Jakucho Setouchi. Their heartfelt and uplifting conversation took place at "Jakuan," Jakucho Setouchi's temple in Sagano, Japan. This stunning masterpiece of book design and construction is a work of art that reproduces the wood block and stencil prints of Keiko Hara with the exquisite lettering of typographer Maki Yamashita and the craftsmanship of master bookbinder Atsuo Ikuta. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Portable Kisses
This is a marvelous collection of contemporary love poetry. In tone and style it is very reminiscent of Pablo Neruda's 21 Love Poems. The poems not only treat romantic love in its myriad varieties but also capture thefemale passion and perspecitve in love. I have long adored the book.Indeed, it was the first collection of poems that brought poetry to lifefor me. In particular, "Your Hands which I love to Kiss" is myfavorite poem as it depicts the strange subtleties of love. If you are atall a chronic romantic, I highly recommend this work. ... Read more