Still Here, Still Now

Robert Pack is one of America’s most eminent nature poets, and his virtuoso talents are on glorious display in __Still Here, Still Now__, his nineteenth volume of verse. With styles ranging from lyric to narrative, and themes stretching from biblical concerns to meditations on contemporary science, Pack’s poetry is composed in strongly rhythmic cadences and a diction that is direct and accessible. In four different sections of thematically and stylistically divergent verse, __Still Here, Still Now__ delivers many of the elements of Pack’s poetry readers have come to admire and expect—both the humorous and the elegiac. The first section of the book contains traditional lyrics that celebrate family ties and seek consolations for the passing of personal and evolutionary time. The poems in this group address a named or unnamed auditor in a voice of intimate engagement. Featuring the most narrative selections in the book, the second section consists of fable-like stories, rich with innuendo and implication. The characters in these poems make choices that press against the events and circumstances that challenge and define them. Embodying what Harold Bloom has called Pack’s “courage to surmount suffering,” the poems of the third section are largely devoted to biblical themes and philosophical speculations on the meaning of happiness and the uses of suffering. Here, Pack’s empathy for the human condition as well as his forebodings about the prospect of human survival are on poignant display. The final section of the book turns to Pack's abiding interest in landscape and the ways in which the place one inhabits contains and animates our individual lives. Ripe with many years, Pack remains a vital presence in American letters. __Still Here, Still Now__ is an affecting and graceful addition to the oeuvre of a poet whose compelling and distinct voice will continue to resonate among his loyal readers. Robert Pack Is One Of America's Most Eminent Nature Poets; Still Here, Still Now Is His Nineteenth Volume Of Verse. The First Section Of The Book Contains Traditional Lyrics That Celebrate Family Ties And Seek Consolations For The Passing Of Personal And Evolutionary Time. The Poems In This Group Address A Named Or Unnamed Auditor In A Voice Of Intimate Engagement. Featuring The Most Narrative Selections In The Book, The Second Section Consists Of Fable-like Stories, Rich With Innuendo And Implication.--jacket. I. For You And You -- Another March -- Facing You -- Paul Sees More Light -- Flute Music At Noon -- You Are The One -- The Blue Vase -- Mountain Dawn -- No Reconciling -- Tornado Consolation -- Moonlight Mirrorings -- The Story's End -- Logical Speculation -- Grandson -- Comforting -- Ii. Short And Tall Tales -- Reincarnation -- Literary Ravens -- Happiness -- Four Guys Cross Montana -- The Stutterer -- Arguing Friends -- The Teacher Shakes Up His Class -- Brothers -- Pride And Laughter -- The Ecstasy -- The King's Dilemma -- Grizzly Prayer -- The Rabbi's Spiel To His Congregation -- Redesigned -- Iii. Meditations And Forebodings -- Meditation Of A Jew -- Moses -- Darwin's Beetle -- Breaking News -- Academic Party -- Rain In August -- Mountain Meditation -- Flourishing Birches -- Wedding Ceremony -- The Peaceable Kingdom -- Afterlife -- Survival -- Choice -- Conundrum -- Iv. Landscapes And Self-portraits -- It's May Again -- Butterfly -- Tamaracks -- Spider -- It's Only Wind -- Bear Grass -- Spring Rain -- Sleepy Dog Blues -- Sunrise -- Sunflower -- Illumination -- Old Man Walking -- Midday Moths -- This Instant Now -- V. Two Epilogues -- The War To End All Wars -- Make-believe My Muse. Robert Pack.