Nomads of the Dawn by Wade Davis

Nomads of the Dawn by Wade Davis

Falling from Silence is the seventy-third book by David Slavitt, the prolific poet, novelist, translator, and editor. His amazing rate of production has only amplified and refined the power of his art. This is the work of an accomplished veteran, a craftsman who laments the limitations of what his hard-earned talent can do in the face of age and loss. He turns to religion, reads the classics, and in moments of cheer that may not be mere mania, he horses around and fools with the words that have been his toys, but nothing helps--or, more accurately, nothing helps enough. It is nevertheless true that, as he says in Pen,

The letters
that danced in the light like gnats will suddenly light
on some twig of a notion a held breath can make tremble
in an unpredictable motion--like this pen's--
that no one would think could bear the fruit of truth.

Ranging in tone from devilish and droll to dignified and desolate, the poems here examine death and aging and bespeak the reassuring connection between the generations. In Angel of Death, the speaker remarkably balances grief and joy in describing the birth of his grandson, who bears the name of the poet's father: I hold him in my arms, the precious, breathing / weight, and admire the tiny hands / that will bear the weight one day of my coffin's corner. . . . / That a Sam once more will carry me is a comfort.

Slavitt's wry wit, profound humanity, and agile intellect illuminate every page of Falling from Silence. In contrast to its title, it is, indeed, a resounding poetic triumph.

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence WADE DAVIS is an anthropologist and storyteller whose work has taken him into indigenous communities worldwide. He is the author of 17 books including The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986) and Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest (2011), which won the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize for best English-language nonfiction. For National Geographic TV he created Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-part documentary. One of 20 Honorary Members of the Explorers Club, in 2011 Davis received their Explorers Medal, the club's highest award.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780876543573
ISBN 10	0876543573
Title	Nomads of the Dawn
Author	Wade Davis
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pomegranate Europe Ltd
Year published	1995-03-01
Number of pages	144
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.