The Wild God of the World: An Anthology of Robinson Jeffers

I will be brief. Robinson Jeffers was/is a man from an ancient age who delivers a clarity of natural vision unparalleled by anyone else I have found. Learning to navigate the world of poetry is about acquiring taste, and for me the spread of this Wild God, refined by American history, by the native legacy, by the depredations and tragedies of modernity, and by the timelessness of human spiritual culture is beyond gourmet. Like the dying/revivifying deity, Jeffers' person and poetry was/is a generative force in a land of decay. Get your hands on this or any of his work if you can. For nowhere has the meaning of anthology been more apt: a gathering of flowers indeed.

Jeffers somehow captures the spirit of the California coast at night. Its actually somewhat disturbingly cosmic, not in the hippy sense, but in the Greek sense: immense, infinite and terrifying. No wonder Jeffers' appeal is limited. I love him.

This brief collection of poetry by the former Carmel, CA resident Robinson Jeffers contains some of his strongest lyrical work. Although suited for an introductory course on poetry, I'm not sure why the publishers (Stanford UP) would think that this volume ... is a better deal than the other recent Stanford UP volume, The Collected Poetry, which includes some of Jeffers's prose (Prefaces/Letters) and is more comprehensive ...This is a slim volume--about the size of Hass's previous collection (Rock and Hawk, now out-of-print). But it is vastly superior in text and style to The Selected Poems (thin book, red and blue cover, ...).I highly recommend this text. It contains the "Best Of" Jeffers's poetic gems, such as "Shine, Perishing Republic," (apropos for our current times), and "For Una," to name a couple.Jeffers was an amazing American poet. For once I disagree with Vendler's estimation of his poetic merits and craft. I would recommend Jeffers to a reader in the same spirit that Hass, C. Milosz, Wm. Everson, and Bukowski recommended that we listen to his prophetic voice. Jeffers's work embodies the Carmel landscape and cosmic essence of Northern California. Yet his voice is universal and resounds with tragic wisdom.I also recommend Hass, Milosz, Everson, H. Miller, and the academic treatments of Jeffers's work by Robert Brophy.