The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: A Poetry Anthology

If you loved Iron John, you should read this book. But if you either (1) didn't read Iron John, (2) tried to read but couldn't finish Iron John, or (3) hated Iron John, you should especially read this book. I have to say up front that I don't agree with, or perhaps understand, many aspects and details of the men's movement. I was one person who tried mightily to read and enjoy Iron John, but simply couldn't get all the way through it. Then I found this book, and I have been reading it since. This was 10 years ago. I am exaggerating of course, but only a little. This book is a constant in my reading habits. I refer to it again and again, and have recommended it (and purchased it) for more friends than any other book I know.Simply, this is a wonderful anthology of poetry, organized thematically, for men. Many of the individual poems are brilliant, and the overall organization is intelligent and, at times, profound. As I have grappled with marriage, fatherhood, aging parents--all the trappings of midlife--this book has been a constant source of wisdom and comfort for me. Do a kind thing for yourself or for a thoughtful man in your life and buy this book.

Treasures untold, indeed. This is the finest, most inspiring and least predictable contemporary poetry anthology I have ever come across. It has introduced me (I am British, and certain of the USpoets featured are not so well-known over here) to, among many others, Balaban, Nowlen and the wonderful Robert Haydon - his poem about his father is heartbreaking, a perfect poem.Bly is a hero. I`ve long loved his poetry and his approach to the art. Here, with his compadres, he has given us a cornucopia of living, fire-breathing verse to live, love and get lost in for ever. `Volume Two?`

.There is nothing but water in the holy pools,I know, I have been swimming in them. All the gods sculpted of wood or ivory can't say a word,I know, I have been crying out to them.The Sacred Books of the East are nothing but words,I looked through their covers one day sideways.What Kabir talks of is only what he has lived through.If you have not lived through something, it is not true.-- Kabir, translated by Robert Bly (p. 282)This eclectic offering of verse reminds the reader of what he has lived through. It illuminates forgotten & ignored experiences through rhythms and images of people who have made their lives' works out of committing the unconscious to the written page. These nuggets of truth find value as they elicit Truth from the reader's experience.DON'T trace out your profileforget your side view--all that is outer sutff.LOOK for your other halfwho walks always next to youand tends to be who you aren't.-- Antonio Machado, translated by Bly, (p. 366)It's difficult to flip at random through these pages, and not find an echo of something stirring deep, writhing in forgotten darkness. These words shine from the page to cast the shadow of that "Other" in sharp relief upon your mind. This is not a book of pretty verse, not poetry to read to grandma during the Christian Ladies Tea Party in the rose garden. These are words to sever the bondage to dysfunctional social programming: "We have been busy accumulating solace / Make us afraid of how we were." (Rumi, p. 135)Although the subtitle says "Poems for Men," I'm certain women will find power & freedom in these words, too. Some poems specifically name masculine woes, sorrows & challenges. Where these do not apply directly to the lives of women, perhaps they will open a portal into men's souls for the other gender.I've nearly worn mine out and will soon be getting another copy. If I only had one book of poetry to take to a desert island, this would be the one.

I have been hooked on the power of words in poetry -- secretly, of course, since I'm a guy -- since I was a little kid. I have absolutely no problem with reading an entire book of modern poetry and coming away with a single line, a single image that moved me, the hunger is that great in me.I found this book back in '92 when it was first published. It spans the centuries and the continents; but has a healthy dollop of contemporary writing that is stunning. It's quite possible to imagine that all greatness belongs to ages past; this book proves that a lie by nestling examples of past excellence with their contemporary heirs.My favorite pieces especially include "Becoming Milton" (p. 81), "The Colonel" (p. 89), "A Story About the Body" (p. 266), and "What Happened During the Ice Storm" (p. 249); which I have redubbed "A Sack Full of Ears," "Entombed in Tanks," "A Bowl Full of Bees," and "Frozen Pheasants," respectively. I just read the last one at a poetry reading in New Hampshire on the first Wednesday in January 2001. A third of the way into the poem, the entire room audibly gasped and tensed. At the end, I felt a tremendous sense of redemption and relief overcome the SRO room as they burst into applause. No credit is due to myself; it's entirely the power of Jim Heynan's words. If you believe, or need to believe, in good poetry, you should own this anthology and read from it frequently, as I do.And the search continues ...

Most people like poetry more than they are willing to admit, and this book will open anyone's heart to the simplicity and complexity of poetry's possibilties. I teach college literature courses and am always searching for approachable poems to share with my poetry-fearing students. This book has been the perfect collection to break down the stony walls that separate those who love poetry and those who are just plain afraid to. The varied representations range from Cesar Vallejo to Bob Dylan to Czeslaw Milosz. Edited by that eccentric Robert Bly(et al)with the cool hand gestures and multiple recitations style, section titles such as "Making a Hole in Denial" and The Naive Male" shouldn't scare anyone away. The selections and commentaries are terrific. The only flaw is the subtitle "Poems for Men" which appears only on the title page--which is a good thing since if I'd seen it before I bought the book, I probably would have laughed thinking I had to get down to my skivvies with a drum to read out of it. Get this book if you want to read some great standards right alongside some obscure, unique discoveries. By the way, this collection may contain poems the editors meant to be for men, but they're poems for women just as well.