Act V Scene I: Poems

Vibrant new poems from the award-winning nonagenarian poet who Rosanna Warren calls Undaunted, outrageously alive…

OpenAct V, Scene Ior any of Stanley Moss’s books anywhere, and you will come shockingly upon wisdom and beauty, a diversity of styles-a unity of voice, a voice that was there since the beginning. I love Stanley Moss’s work. The pace, the strategy, the wit, the knowledge are astonishing. Of the generation that is gradually leaving us, those born in the mid- and late-1920s, he has a prominent place. He loves donkeys. He owns Ted Roethke’s raccoon coat. He is an original. -Gerald Stern

Magisterial… this book is magnificent. I’ve read it several times with greater and greater pleasure. Its verbal generosity and bravura, its humanity, the quality and quantity of information which it generates into poetry of the highest order make it a continuing delight. -Marilyn Hacker

… In our epoch of turmoil, crisis, and grief, I find that Moss’s poetry still, always, brings me a little closer to happiness. -Forrest Gander

I’ve loved Stanley’s poems since I first encountered a poem of his inPoetrymagazine in John Berryman’s office when I was nineteen. -W.S. Merwin

… This is a book to hold onto for dear life. -Rosanna Warren

IChoosetoWriteaPoem

I choosetowriteapoem whenmyleftankle'sbroken,purple,andmyrightankle'sswollenblue, both kneesbanged,twice theirusualsize,bothmy long legs killingme,
while afamousangelisreallykillingme. Iseparatephysicalpainfromtherealthing-therealthing,thesoulusuallydies beforethebody.Mysoulisdancing,welcomingspringin thegarden onabeautifulJunemorning,readytoliveforever.