We cannot verify your location
Browse Book and Journal Content on Project MUSE
OR
Browse > Creative Writing > Poetry
title

Sound of the Ax

Aphorisms and Poems by William Stafford

Edited by Edited by Vincent Wixon and Paul Merchant

Publication Year: 2014

Sound of the Ax brings together for the first time over four hundred aphorisms and twenty-six aphoristic poems by one of America’s most essential poets of the twentieth century. Many readers are familiar with the trenchant nature of William Stafford’s poems, with lines such as “Justice will take us millions of intricate moves” and “Your job is to find what the world is trying to be,” but have never had the opportunity to read a sustained selection from the thousands of wise, witty, and penetrating statements he created in over forty years of daily writing in his journal. In keeping with Stafford’s varied interests, the aphorisms in Sound of the Ax explore many topics—war and peace, involvement, aging, appearances, fear, egotism, writing, nature, animals, suffering, faith, living an ethical life, and so on—with his incisive view. The poems are either made up entirely or primarily aphorisms, and range from the well-known “Things I Learned Last Week” to some never before collected. Readers will find much to enjoy and to think about here, and will return over and over to Sound of the Ax for inspiration, pleasure, and wisdom from an author noted for his integrity and mindful living.

Published by: University of Pittsburgh Press

Series: Pitt Poetry Series

Cover

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. C-C

Title Page, Copyright Page

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. i-vi

read more

Editors’ Preface

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. vii-xii

An aphorism is a metaphor in work clothes, the kind of statement that “delivers groceries,” as William Stafford put it. This volume includes nearly four hundred of the thousands of aphoristic statements that occur at regular intervals throughout William Stafford’s fifty years of daily writing. It was part of William...

Aphorisms and Poems

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 1-2

Climbing along the River

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 3-5

The Sparkle Depends on Flaws in the Diamond

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 6-8

Keepsakes

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 9-11

Note

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 12-14

Sayings of the Blind

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 15-17

Sayings from the Northern Ice

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 18-20

Butterflies in the Radiator Grill

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 21-23

Written on the Stub of the First Paycheck

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 24-26

Song Now

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 27-29

Wild Horse Lore

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 30-32

.38

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 33-35

The Gospel Is Whatever Happens

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 36-38

So Long

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 39-41

Salvaged Parts

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 42-44

Artist, Come Home

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 45-47

Things the Wind Says

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 48-50

Optimism

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 51-53

Buddha’s Thoughts

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 54-56

Put These in Your Pipe

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 57-59

Consolations

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 60-62

The Dream of Now

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 63-65

Influential Writers

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 66-68

Mein Kampf

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 69-71

[A Well-Oiled Gate]

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 72-74

Things I Learned Last Week

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 75-77

Tuned In Late One Night

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 78-82

Acknowledgments

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. 83-92

Back Cover

pdf iconDownload PDF
pp. BC-BC


E-ISBN-13: 9780822979661
E-ISBN-10: 0822979667
Print-ISBN-13: 9780822962960
Print-ISBN-10: 0822962969

Page Count: 104
Publication Year: 2014

Series Title: Pitt Poetry Series
Series Editor Byline: Ed Ochester See more Books in this Series

OCLC Number: 878918453
MUSE Marc Record: Download for Sound of the Ax

Research Areas

Recommend

UPCC logo
  • You have access to this content
  • Free sample
  • Open Access
  • Restricted Access

Welcome to Project MUSE

Use the simple Search box at the top of the page or the Advanced Search linked from the top of the page to find book and journal content. Refine results with the filtering options on the left side of the Advanced Search page or on your search results page. Click the Browse box to see a selection of books and journals by: Research Area, Titles A-Z, Publisher, Books only, or Journals only.

Connect with Project MUSE

Project MUSE | 2715 North Charles Street | Baltimore, Maryland USA 21218 | (410) 516-6989 | About | Contact | Help | Tools | Order

©2016 Project MUSE. Produced by The Johns Hopkins University Press in collaboration with The Milton S. Eisenhower Library.