Overview
The first-ever collection of essays by one of our most distinguished and distinctive poets, Pulitzer Prize-winner and former Poet Laureate of the United States, Kay Ryan
Synthesizing Gravity gathers for the first time a thirty-year selection of Kay Ryan’s probings into aesthetics, poetics, and the mind in pursuit of art.
A bracing collection of critical prose, book reviews, and her private previously unpublished soundings of poems and poets— including Robert Frost, Stevie Smith, Marianne Moore, William Bronk, and Emily Dickinson— Synthesizing Gravity bristles with Ryan’s crisp wit, her keen off-kilter insights, and her appetite and appreciation for the genuine. Among essays like “Radiantly Indefensible,” “Notes on the Danger of Notebooks,” and “The Abrasion of Loneliness,” are piquant pieces on the virtues of emptiness, forgetfulness, and other under-loved concepts. Edited and with an introduction by Christian Wiman, this generous collection of Ryan’s distinctive thinking gives us a surprising look into the mind of an American master.
While major retailers like Amazon may carry Synthesizing Gravity (Selected Prose) - 9780802148582, we specialize in bulk book sales and offer personalized service from our friendly, book-smart team based in Portland, Oregon. We’re proud to offer a Price Match Guarantee and a streamlined ordering experience from people who truly care.
We’re trusted by over 75,000 customers, many of whom return time and again. Want proof? Just check out our 25,000+ customer reviews—real feedback from people who love how we do business.
Prefer to talk to a real person? Our Book Specialists are here Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST and ready to help with your bulk order of Synthesizing Gravity (Selected Prose) - 9780802148582.