Poetry

The Wild Iris

The Wild Iris

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  • Create Date：2021-05-24 09:53:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-13
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  • Author：Louise Glück
  • ISBN：0880013346
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Summary

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

From Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Louise Glück， a stunningly beautiful collection of poems that encompasses the natural， human， and spiritual realms

Bound together by the universal themes of time and mortality and with clarity and sureness of craft， Louise Glück's poetry questions， explores， and finally celebrates the ordeal of being alive。

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Reviews

Morgan Brown ，

Reading this reminded me a lot of reading the mourning Psalms。 Louise Glück writes in a way that is both profound and accessible。 Her links between us， the natural world， creation and the Creator are beautiful。

Giuseppe Del Core ，

No one’s despair is like my despair

Allegra ，

exquisite。

Jana ，

I am a novice at reading poetry （since pandemic started） and have a mixed response to The Wild Iris。One the one hand， I appreciate the imagery， and the way it is told from the perspective of the garden flowers。 On the other hand， however， it just didn't move me。 Nothing resonated， so I reread it。 Perhaps I would have had better luck discussing it with someone， or perhaps I simply tried too hard。 I was looking for an emotional response more on par with The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry， b I am a novice at reading poetry （since pandemic started） and have a mixed response to The Wild Iris。One the one hand， I appreciate the imagery， and the way it is told from the perspective of the garden flowers。 On the other hand， however， it just didn't move me。 Nothing resonated， so I reread it。 Perhaps I would have had better luck discussing it with someone， or perhaps I simply tried too hard。 I was looking for an emotional response more on par with The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry， but alas， it was not there。 Such is art。 。。。more

José Simões ，

Há um livro de que gosto muito， de António Bagão Félix， que tem por tema e título «30 árvores em discurso directo»。 Louise Glück preferiu as flores para esse efeito e， o que poderia correr bastante mal， acaba por se revelar brilhante。 Digo 'correr mal' porque não é imediata a empatia com esses seres vivos， porque o conceito， a ideia， podia sequestrar a dimensão poética， porque os limites do exercício são escorregadios。 E， no entanto， tudo é belo aqui。 Não só esses momentos de primeira pessoa （ou Há um livro de que gosto muito， de António Bagão Félix， que tem por tema e título «30 árvores em discurso directo»。 Louise Glück preferiu as flores para esse efeito e， o que poderia correr bastante mal， acaba por se revelar brilhante。 Digo 'correr mal' porque não é imediata a empatia com esses seres vivos， porque o conceito， a ideia， podia sequestrar a dimensão poética， porque os limites do exercício são escorregadios。 E， no entanto， tudo é belo aqui。 Não só esses momentos de primeira pessoa （ou planta）， mas também （e às vezes sobretudo） os poemas de religação ou vagamente "religiosos"， num sentido telúrico e transcendente， aqui representados pelos diversos textos intitulados Matinas e Vésperas。 É， de resto， em torno dessa linha e de uma outra - onde se juntam tempos e momentos - que a poesia de Glück me parece mais solta， mais viva， sem com isso menosprezar a flora。 Sempre num estilo despojado， exibindo sem alarde a simplicidade dos versos， sem pressa nem esticões。 Por tudo isso é mais um caso em que o Nobel ganha e ganhamos todos por termos esta autora traduzida para português。 。。。more

Sanna Carlborg ，

Så vacker och passande att läsa om våren。 De religiösa tankegångarna kanske inte till fullo finner genklang i mig och jag föredrar Meadowlands。 Men Vild iris ger mig ändå poetisk mersmak。 Efterordet är också trevligt。

Marie ，

Trädgårdspoesi som gräver runt ordentligt。

Atri ，

even here， even at the beginning of love，her hand leaving his face makes an image of departureand they thinkthey are free to overlookthis sadness。***I didn't even know I felt griefuntil that word came， until I feltrain streaming from me。***I wanted to stay as I was，still as the world is never still，not in midsummer but the moment beforethe first flower forms， the momentnothing is as yet past -***In every life， there's a moment or two。In every life， a room somewhere， by the sea or in the mountain even here， even at the beginning of love，her hand leaving his face makes an image of departureand they thinkthey are free to overlookthis sadness。***I didn't even know I felt griefuntil that word came， until I feltrain streaming from me。***I wanted to stay as I was，still as the world is never still，not in midsummer but the moment beforethe first flower forms， the momentnothing is as yet past -***In every life， there's a moment or two。In every life， a room somewhere， by the sea or in the mountains。***Hush， beloved。 It doesn't matter to mehow many summers I live to return:this one summer we have entered eternity。 。。。more

Alex ，

One of my poetry professors recommended Louise Gluck to me。 I've been meaning to read her for a while and finally got around to it。 A number of poems in this collection I adored: Snowdrops， The Garden， Heaven and Earth， Vespers [I don’t wonder where you are anymore。。。]， Retreating Light， and Vespers: Parousia。 Others I liked， some I liked only in part， and a good number I couldn’t quite grasp and didn’t care for。 One of my poetry professors recommended Louise Gluck to me。 I've been meaning to read her for a while and finally got around to it。 A number of poems in this collection I adored: Snowdrops， The Garden， Heaven and Earth， Vespers [I don’t wonder where you are anymore。。。]， Retreating Light， and Vespers: Parousia。 Others I liked， some I liked only in part， and a good number I couldn’t quite grasp and didn’t care for。 。。。more

Rebs ，

Eine wirklich schöne Sammlung von Gedichten， die auf Englisch und Deutsch abgedruckt sind。 Sie ziehen einen in ihren Bann und lassen einen erst nach der letzten Seite wieder los！

Emily King ，

Beautiful poetry。 Reminds me very much of Mary Oliver’s poems。

Tom Wiley ，

These beautiful poems reflect on spring， new life， beauty， mortality， death， and time。 It is a fitting set of poems to read in this moment。

Vane Arroyo ，

Before writing my review I re-read some phrases that I liked， and only then it made so much sense to me。 What I like about this poetry book was the uncertainty， who is talking to who？ for me， it was a dialogue between god and us（and once in a while， someone else）， but the special thing about it was that we are so used to complain to god， that once in a while it's good to know that he can complain about us too， after all， aren't we created in his image and likeness？ The resentment， grief and doub Before writing my review I re-read some phrases that I liked， and only then it made so much sense to me。 What I like about this poetry book was the uncertainty， who is talking to who？ for me， it was a dialogue between god and us（and once in a while， someone else）， but the special thing about it was that we are so used to complain to god， that once in a while it's good to know that he can complain about us too， after all， aren't we created in his image and likeness？ The resentment， grief and doubt that it contains made it magical to read。*just a few of my favorite quotes below*If you would open your eyesyou would see me， you would seethe emptiness of heavenmirrored on earth， the fieldsvacant again， lifelesswe are left to think you couldn't possibly exist。 Is thiswhat you mean us to think， does this explainthe silence of the morningWho else would so envy the bond we had thenas to tell us it was not earthbut heaven we were losing？And at the end， what？ A small blue flowerlike a star。 Neverto leave the world！ Is thisnot what your tears mean？Somethingcomes into the world unwelcome calling disorder， disorder—If you hate me so much don't bother to give me a name: do you needone more slurin your language 。。。more

Susan ，

This was a beautiful book of lyrical poetry that is a retelling of the Garden of Eden， or Paradise Lost， and struggles in that context to make sense of one's place in the universe。 I read this because I wanted to read a book of nature poems and while they did focus on the natural world， they were part of a larger context of nature， poetry， community， and humanity。 I wanted to love this collection as much as I enjoyed Gluck's Meadowlands especially as she won the Pulitzer Prize for this book， but This was a beautiful book of lyrical poetry that is a retelling of the Garden of Eden， or Paradise Lost， and struggles in that context to make sense of one's place in the universe。 I read this because I wanted to read a book of nature poems and while they did focus on the natural world， they were part of a larger context of nature， poetry， community， and humanity。 I wanted to love this collection as much as I enjoyed Gluck's Meadowlands especially as she won the Pulitzer Prize for this book， but the connection to the Odyssey in the Meadowlands really spoke to me in a way that this did not。 I found the individual poems beautiful but found it hard to grasp the overall themes。 。。。more

Benjamin Geweke ，

Plant life is a hard life。 As is human life。This should be Louise Glück's most famous poetry collection considering the Pulitzer on top of her Nobel Prize in Literature。 Plant life is a hard life。 As is human life。This should be Louise Glück's most famous poetry collection considering the Pulitzer on top of her Nobel Prize in Literature。 。。。more

Sarah Paps ，

This was something truly unique。 Part confessional， part metaphorical， part intellectual all blended in a way that personally struck me。 This is not an easy read， but one that demands attention。 If you put in the work， the payoff is great。 The meanings of each poem is not obvious， and sometimes the language is off beat， the sentence structures odd and stagnant， yet I loved it。 I just never read poetry like this。 I feel like this collection and the words she chose came from a really deep， dark pl This was something truly unique。 Part confessional， part metaphorical， part intellectual all blended in a way that personally struck me。 This is not an easy read， but one that demands attention。 If you put in the work， the payoff is great。 The meanings of each poem is not obvious， and sometimes the language is off beat， the sentence structures odd and stagnant， yet I loved it。 I just never read poetry like this。 I feel like this collection and the words she chose came from a really deep， dark place in her spirit， and even though I couldn't relate completely to everything， I was awed by her creativity。 Most pieces end with a question that I thought were profound。Also， the entire collection is very thematic， using nature and predominantly a garden as her vehicle of expression。 I usually dislike nature poems， but these I found special and interesting。This is not poetry for the casual poetry reader。 If you are new to poetry， I wouldn't start here， I would read more contemporary and confessional poetry for its accessibility， but as someone who reads a lot of poetry collections constantly， I enjoyed this challenge and especially enjoyed the darkness。 。。。more

Simon Svensgård ，

I had to read it through two times as it took me the first time to understand the pattern。 But after decoding it it was a good read。

Michelle ，

6/10Hm。。。 guess I'm in the minority here since there are so many top 4- and 5-star reviews， and I'm just not understanding how this won the Pulitzer Prize。。。 Granted， I don't read much poetry， so maybe I'm way off the mark， but I thought I'd at least。。。 be stirred？ Contemplate on its themes？ I felt nothing the entire collection， and didn't even like most of the imagery or language。 At best， I went， Hm。。。 interesting after reading something。 I only really enjoyed two poems out of the 50 or so。Bes 6/10Hm。。。 guess I'm in the minority here since there are so many top 4- and 5-star reviews， and I'm just not understanding how this won the Pulitzer Prize。。。 Granted， I don't read much poetry， so maybe I'm way off the mark， but I thought I'd at least。。。 be stirred？ Contemplate on its themes？ I felt nothing the entire collection， and didn't even like most of the imagery or language。 At best， I went， Hm。。。 interesting after reading something。 I only really enjoyed two poems out of the 50 or so。Best thing I liked about？ Even though I'm not a religious person， God's voice and his perspective on humans。 I guess because I'm a cynic towards us as well。I got nothing out of it。。。 so。。。 *shrugs* 。。。more

Germán de la Fuente ，

In few words: that book change my perspective about poetry， and thank you！ An extremely powerful talk between God and Louise Glück。Of course way more better the Spanish edition， Pre-textos。

Chris Thompson ，

The Wild Iris combines nature imagery with spiritual and religious imagery， and with a mix of human grief over， I assume， someone’s death。 Each poem seems to shift points of view。 Some are from the plant’s perspective， some from a person， some even possibly from God’s。 Poetry probably just isn’t for me。 I prefer more clarity and continuity。

Joann ，

This collection of poems was challenging。 I am in hopes that the book club discussion will shed some light for me。

Tom ，

A few posies of thought:- There's a continuous narrative drive to this collection， the cycle of the seasons propelling it forward。- Three strands are present: the voices of various flowers expounding on their existence; God's reflections on the fallacies and fallibilities of mankind in its second-class Eden; and a human voice that discusses tending a garden while pondering the meaning of creation and trying to communicate with God。- Some of the poems are titled 'matins' and 'vespers，' but no oth A few posies of thought:- There's a continuous narrative drive to this collection， the cycle of the seasons propelling it forward。- Three strands are present: the voices of various flowers expounding on their existence; God's reflections on the fallacies and fallibilities of mankind in its second-class Eden; and a human voice that discusses tending a garden while pondering the meaning of creation and trying to communicate with God。- Some of the poems are titled 'matins' and 'vespers，' but no other canonical hours appear; we go from the pre-dawn darkness of matins to the post-sundown of vespers， there are no prayers during daylight， which fits nicely with the crepuscular shade of the poems。 The sombre， reflective tone is like a verbalisation of twilight。- The structures are clear， the language simple。 It is poetry that derives richness from sparsity。- Gluck acknowledges walking in the footsteps of the romantic poets， who first made nature a reflection of God and humanity。- It reminded me of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead in the way it questions the concept of an omniscient God。 。。。more

Teresa ，

dedaleiras， rosas， margaridas， lírios。。。figos， damascos， pêssegos， mirtilos。。。ervilhas， alfaces， chicórias， tomates。。。Gosto de flores no jardim e de frutas e hortaliças no prato; na poesia fazem-me azia。。。

Katie Clark ，

Such a beautiful collection of poems that perfectly encapsulate the feeling of springtime。 I feel like I was kind of too dumb to understand some of the poems， but all the poems have really good one-liners that give me goosebumps when I think about them。

Claire Haldeman ，

i don’t think i’m going to stop reading this

cosmina ，

This is one of the reasons I love poetry。

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer ，

This collection， the sixth to be published by the 2020 Nobel Laureate， also won her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1993， and as a result this is I think easily her best known collection。It is also I think possibly the most accessible for a non-poetry fan， provided you understand the basic structure of the collection – which is really a free verse/dialogue novella and one designed to be read as a whole and I think in a single sitting。 My suggestion would in fact be to read the collection once， This collection， the sixth to be published by the 2020 Nobel Laureate， also won her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1993， and as a result this is I think easily her best known collection。It is also I think possibly the most accessible for a non-poetry fan， provided you understand the basic structure of the collection – which is really a free verse/dialogue novella and one designed to be read as a whole and I think in a single sitting。 My suggestion would in fact be to read the collection once， appreciate its structure （which can seem confusing on a first read） and then to re-read it， with a greater appreciation of the different voices perhaps concentrating on each voice separately， and then a third time start to finish。The collection proceeds chronologically over a Summer in a US garden （starting with the end of the Spring Snows and going through to late September） – and the poems are of three main types （there are a small number that don’t fit this pattern）。The first set is written by the natural world – normally in the voice of a flower or plant （which gives the poem its name）， typically addressed to humans in general （or more specifically to their gardener） – often commenting on the circularity and boundedness of their own life and relating it to humans。The second （titled at first Matins and then later Vespers） is by a human – the gardener （and effectively part autobiographical like many of Glück’s poems – here featuring her then husband and her oldest son by name）。 These are addresses to a Divine presence – some would say God， although Glück would reject that as an explicit label （she has said “I have no word to describe this divinity， or celestial presence， has animated its life。 It’s shorthand。 It’s shorthand for whatever is not included in the human， and the natural。 Something is left out”） and the voice is almost but not quite the Living God of the Bible。 Many of these poems are a cry for understanding， for insight， by a humanity feeling itself cast adrift and trying to find its way back to the Divine。 And the third set （normally with a title which is a time of day or year） is by the Divine， written to humanity in general （and sometimes specifically to the gardener） in a tone of tenderness， but of slight disappointment that humanity has not gained its independence and fulfilled its creation quite in the way intended。The interplay between the Divine and the human is for me reminiscent at times of The Book of Job， and the intervention of the flowers at times like the Lilies of the Valleys （Lillies featuring in three of the last four poems） addressing humans themselves rather than being used in one of my favourite bible passages （at the end of Matthew 6）。In terms of my favourite poems （and some excerpts from each）。 Of the nature voices， my favourite has to be “Snowdrops”。 This was included – and quoted in detail - in the Nobel citation where it was commented “Louise Glück is not only engaged by the errancies and shifting conditions of life， she is also a poet of radical change and rebirth， where the leap forward is made from a deep sense of loss” I did not expect to survive，earth suppressing me。 I didn’t expectto waken again， to feelin damp earth my bodyable to respond again， rememberingafter so long how to open againin the cold lightof earliest spring –afraid， yes， but among you againcrying yes risk joyin the raw wind of the new world。。 It is a poem I think which had astonishing resonance in early 2021， as with a UK returning again to lockdown （a lockdown which seemed somewhat harder to bear than the first due to the cold and dark and yet also imbued with hope due to the imminence of a vaccine） the snowdrops reappeared “in the cold light of earliest spring”。 … you disclosevirtually nothing: are you like the hawthorn tree，always the same thing in the same place，or are you more the foxglove， inconsistent， first springing upa pink spike on the slope behind the daisies，and the next year， purple in the rose garden？ You must seeit is useless to us， this silence that promotes beliefyou must be all things， the foxglove and the hawthorn tree，the vulnerable rose and tough daisy—we are left to thinkyou couldn’t possibly exist。 Is thiswhat you mean us to think， does this explainthe silence of the morning，。 And of the Divine， the first intervention “Clear Morning” I’ve watched you long enough， I can speak to you any way I like，I’ve submitted to your preferences， observing patiently the things you love， speaking through vehicles only 。。。… you would never accepta voice like mine， indifferent to the objects you busily name。。。…。And all this timeI indulged your limitations， thinking you would cast it aside yourselves sooner or laterthinking matter could not absorb your gaze forever 。。。。 I cannot go on restricting myself to imagesbecause you think it is your right to dispute my meaning: I am prepared now to forceclarity upon you。 Simply brilliant。 。。。more

Helena Sardinha ，

（。。。）I try to win you back，That is the pointOf the writing。But you are gone forever，As in Russian novels， sayingA few words I don't remember-How lush the world is，How full of things that don't belong to me-I watch the blossoms shatter，No longer pink，But old， old， a yellowish white-The petals seemTo float on the bright grass，Fluttering slightly。What a nothing you were，To be changed so quicklyInto an image， an odor-You are everywhere， sourceOf wisdom and anguish。 （。。。）I try to win you back，That is the pointOf the writing。But you are gone forever，As in Russian novels， sayingA few words I don't remember-How lush the world is，How full of things that don't belong to me-I watch the blossoms shatter，No longer pink，But old， old， a yellowish white-The petals seemTo float on the bright grass，Fluttering slightly。What a nothing you were，To be changed so quicklyInto an image， an odor-You are everywhere， sourceOf wisdom and anguish。 。。。more

Janet ，

Paints some lovely imagery and I particularly enjoyed many of the plant dialogues。 The clover， witchgrass and daisies were favorites of mine。 I wasn't a big fan of most of the 'religious' ones， and the relationship ones seemed rather dreary， but maybe I just missed the point on those。 This was my first introduction to Gluck's poetry。 Paints some lovely imagery and I particularly enjoyed many of the plant dialogues。 The clover， witchgrass and daisies were favorites of mine。 I wasn't a big fan of most of the 'religious' ones， and the relationship ones seemed rather dreary， but maybe I just missed the point on those。 This was my first introduction to Gluck's poetry。 。。。more

Carol Ann ，

I slogged my way through this joyless collection。。。。 dark， dull， mopey and cumbersome。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Wild Iris

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Wild Iris&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Wild Iris&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0