The University of Wisconsin Press
Poetry
Legend of Light
Bob Hicok
The Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry
Ronald Wallace, General Editor
Felix Pollak Prize in PoetryWinner of the 1995 Society of Midland Authors Book Award
1997 Notable Book List of the American Library
"Hicok's poems have a kind of severity, a moral accuracy, that both chills and refreshes the spirit, along with a technical virtuosity intrinsic to the work. He writes of the mundane with a brio that speaks to the meaning of 'metaphysical': beyond the physical, into the realms of light."—Carolyn Kizer, Pollak Prize Citation
"The Legend of Light is a vivid, quirky, and deeply human book."—Thomas Lux
"Bob Hicok's poems go out 'looking for what's least,' but they also keep their eye, in these failing days of our century, on the large view, 'The term used / is megalopolis.' This vast expanse is his terrain, and the subject he ably studies there is—us, it turns out; or what he calls the 'heart's jazz.' He listens to that music most industriously."—Albert Goldbarth
Whether Hicok is considering the reflection of human faces in the Vietnam War Memorial or the elements of a "Modern Prototype" factory, he prompts an icy realization that we may have never seen the world as it truly is. But his resilient voice and consistent perspective is neither blaming nor didactic, and ultimately enlightening. From the shadowed corners into which we dare not look clearly, Hicok makes us witness and hero of The Legend of Light.
Bob Hicok is the author of another collection of poems, Bearing Witness. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is an automotive die designer and computer system administrator. His poetry has appeared in many literary publications, including Boulevard, The Iowa Review, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and The Southern Review.
Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)
September 1995
LC: 95-015836 PS
96 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
Paper $12.95 t
ISBN 978-0-299-14914-5ADD TO CART
Home | Books | Journals | Events | Textbooks | Authors | Related | Search | Order | Contact If you have trouble accessing any page in this web site, contact our Web manager.
E-mail: webmaster@uwpress.wisc.edu.Updated May 17, 2011
© 2010, The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
