About the Community of Readers

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Established in 2007 by the Leatherby Libraries, the Community of Readers is the summer reading program for Chapman University. This program is open to everyone who has borrowing privileges at the Leatherby Libraries and a current library account, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Members select books from the Leatherby Libraries and receive prizes upon submission of their first review. The only requirement is that books must be obtained through the Leatherby Libraries.

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Friday, July 21, 2017

Praise

TitlePraise
AuthorRobert Hass
Call NumberPS3558.A725 P7 1979
Location2nd Floor Humanities
RatingRecommended
Book ReviewIt’s been almost 40 years and half a dozen books since Praise’s initial publication but it was a real pleasure to see how well the poems hold up in 2017—there’s a timelessness to these poems. At times Haas can be elusive in his meaning—I think I read “Meditation at Lagunitas” five times over—but where evasiveness can be frustrating, in the case of Praise I found it compelling, even playful. I can’t say I know what Haas means exactly in “The idea, for example, that each particular erases/the luminous clarity of a general idea,” but in the same poem Haas provides his own clarity with lines such as, “Longing, we say, because desire is full of endless distances.” Haas’s use of enigmatic lines with ones of crystal clarity make the reading experience one worth digging into, keeping the reader turning the page. A fun read, with many lines resonating Recommended poems include “Songs to Survive the Summer,” “The Image,” and “Sunrise.”
Submitted ByDavid Krausman
Department or MajorWilkinson College
StatusStaff
Chapman Emailkrausman@chapman.edu

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