Bibliograph

After all, last poems, William Matthews

Type

Label

After all, last poems, William Matthews

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

After all

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

William Matthews

Sub title

last poems

Summary

In this collection of poems completed shortly before his death, William Matthews seems to be looking his last on all things lovely: music, food and wine, love. In the stunning central poem, "Dire Cure," which forms a kind of spine to the book, he describes the remarkable implications of the "heroic measures" that saved the life and restored the health of his wife from "a children's cancer (doesn't that possessive break your heart?)." He evokes the death of his favorite jazz musician, Charles Mingus. He speaks of cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, of the past, of history, of joys proposed, but especially, with his characteristic relaxed wit, of language and its quiddities: "My love says I think too damn much and maybe she's right." After All is the last word from this winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Ruth Lilly Award, one of the most pensive and delicious of all our poets

Target audience

adult

Classification