Recollections of Being

Synopsis

This new book by Nathaniel Tarn contains two series of “domestic poems”; a set of poems about New Mexico, and a set of lyrical poems on contemporary issues: philosophical, environmental and political. They range from simple to complex; use varying meters and page lay-outs from closed to open – but the voice, developed over 50 years is always uniquely recognizable.

Reviews of this Book

‘In book after book, Nathaniel Tarn has traced the feelings, thoughts and rituals that establish what and where we think we are. As a trained anthropologist, Tarn has a sophisticated understanding of ritual structures that shape communities. As a poet his interior testimonies argue for the irreducible authority of moods that resist all collation.’ —Joseph Donahue, First Intensity

‘Tarn’s contribution to contemporary poetry is of particular importance since it is so informed by his studies and fieldwork in anthropology. This links him very closely with the ethnopoetics of Jerome Rothenberg; the multicultural scope of Olson & Paz; the historical breadth of Pound, Eliot & Blaser; the scientifc interests of Zukofsky, McDiarmid and Rukeyser; the visionary intensity of [a] Maria Sabina. That all this should be embodied in the work of a single individual is quite extraordinary.’ —John Olson, American Book Review