History of Color

Few poets today, even very good ones, write lines, as Stanley Moss does, that are so exquisitely crafted you cannot help but remember them. "e;What is heaven but the history of color,"e; begins the new long poem after which this book is named. "e;We know at ninety sometimes it aches to sing,"e; begins another poem, for a woman upon her ninetieth birthday. In the hands of this master, "e;Ah who art in heaven,"e; transmigrates to the quieting "e;ah, ah, baby."e; And here is Moss in an early poem: "e;I’ve always had a preference / for politics you could sing / on the stage of the Scala,"e; ending that poem with words attributed to Lincoln: "e;I don’t know what the soul is, / but whatever it is, I know it can humble itself."e; A History of Color: New and Collected Poems by Stanley Moss is the first one-volume, complete edition of the poetry of this important living American poet. A History of Color proposes poetry that is made to be useful. Moss is our leading psalmist. Metaphors for wonder abound, his language one of sorrow and exaltation.