Home Among the Swinging Stars by Jaime de Angulo - Review & Giveaway
Home Among the Swinging Stars is a brilliant collection of poems by Jaime de Angulo (1887 - 1950). His reflections of nature in the American West often feel like lyrics of Native American chants, painting images of coyotes, wild stallions, canyons and cactus. In contrast, other poems speak of the difficulties faced by Native and Latino Americans.
Having fallen in love with the desert myself, I was anxious to read these poems to see if I could recapture the feeling of being under that expansive sky, miles from anywhere. Home Among the Swinging Stars not only delivered those wished-for images, but poetry of the Big Sur and California Redwoods as well. Jaime de Angulo’s poetry feeds the imagination whether you’ve been Out West or not, also giving you a sense of the people who have lived there.
Jaime de Angulo, of Spanish descent, was born in Paris and moved to America when he was 14 years old. He lived in California, Colorado, South America, and several other locations in the U.S. and abroad, leading a rather complicated and continually evolving life, which greatly influenced his work. (If anyone is looking for a subject for writing a biography, this is one I’d love to read!) De Angulo’s writings have inspired many writers, including Jack Kerouac.
If you’d like to have your own copy of Home Among the Swinging Stars, you can enter to win one here. Subscribing to this blog automatically enters you into this and all future book giveaways. Or you may leave a comment on this post telling me what intrigues you about the book. Link to this post on your blog, and you’ll get another entry as well. I’ll choose a winner at random on March 29, 2008, at 12noon EST.
Special Note: I have TWO giveaways running right now! Normally I do one at a time, but since I misread the calendar when posting, you’ve still got time to enter to win The Edge of Europe by Pentti Saarikoski.
Home Among the Swinging Stars is published by La Alameda Press.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I love poetry and the West — what a wonderful combination.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I love the selection and the writer’s blogs and sites. What a wonderful site.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Very nice
March 26th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I am enthralled with the West and the poetry adds another dimension to this wonderful book.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
This one will be up tomorrow as well at my book review/contest blog - A Book Blogger’s Diary, Diane.
Thanks!!
March 26th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I love how poetry can capture in a short phrase that which is so difficult to capture in lengthy prose. Although I haven’t read De Angulo’s poetry before, I love poetry and enjoy when I am so far from the city lights that I can look up and see the Milky Way stretching like a belt above me. Even if I do not win this, I would like to thank you for the suggestion.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
poetry usually soothes me love to read the book
March 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
love “old west” poetry
March 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I love anything that has to do with the Old West.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
[...] Where: carp(e) libris reviews [...]
March 26th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I enjoy and appreciate poetry of all types. I would love to experience this.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
I’d like to win this book!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I read and collect classic poetry and don’t have anything of Jaime de Angulo’s yet. I’d love to read this.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
We would love to read it!!
I added you to prizeatron too
http://www.prizeatron.com
March 27th, 2008 at 1:15 am
I’m intrigued by poetry of all kinds, so count me in!
March 27th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Hi, I find the cover of his book very intriguing. I also love read Jack Kerouac! This books sounds like one you don’t get to read everyday. I would enjoy reading his poetry with a southwestern flair. Please enter me in your drawing. Thanks very much…..
Cindi
March 27th, 2008 at 4:24 am
I write poetry. On my other blog. Therefore, I love to read poetry. This books seems to be one good one.
Give me poetry any day.
Although I am a subscrober of your news letter, I still
say here..count me in!
March 27th, 2008 at 5:54 am
Please add me!
March 27th, 2008 at 5:58 am
I LOVE Poetry and this looks like a wonderful read…thanks
March 27th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I recently moved to Idaho. I have being trying to read about the West.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I love poetry. Here is one I wrote in 1997 (true story)
:”My Little Angel Of Love”
I gave life to a precious angel just a few short days ago
I love her more than life itself but I loved her enough to let her go
For two short days I held her close in a warm loving embrace
Those beautiful moment in which we bonded my mind will never erase
God gave me a Christian couple who can take care of her every need
My eyes will always be streaked with tears; my heart will forever bleed
If I could have just one wish, our paths will cross again
But I’ll hold her close in my heart and love her in silence until then
I know I did the right thing
I’m at peace with the Lord above
And I know he’ll always be watching over
:”My Little Angel Of Love”
March 27th, 2008 at 9:29 am
i love poetry.
i usd to compose back when i was younger.
now, i collect books of poetry for it inspires me to love this lofe…:) poetry has a way of touching a person’s soul, i believe so.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am
That’s beautiful, Tonya! Thank you for sharing. As a mother, that brought tears to my eyes…
March 27th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
this book is just my style.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I love poetry!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Looks like a wonderful book!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I like that it reflects upon the terrain of the west, almost like being there myself!
March 28th, 2008 at 5:15 am
I would love to check this out.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I love the west.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
This sounds like a nice read for evenings on the beach this summer. Romantic….
March 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I heart poetry.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
sounds really great
March 28th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I absolutely love this style of poetry.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
the cover intrigues me
March 28th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Looks like a great read and I love poetry!
March 28th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
would love to try out
March 28th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
My teenager writes alot of poems and I would love to win this to help inspire her to write even more!
March 29th, 2008 at 1:19 am
sounds like a great prize to have in one’s library. Would use it to enrich the children I teach.
March 29th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Poetry is the song in my heart
March 29th, 2008 at 6:42 am
the cultural aspect of the book sounds really interesting to me, esp. coupled with nature.
March 29th, 2008 at 7:30 am
this is a book that would really interest me.
March 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am
What intrigues me about this book is the vast sense of nature of the West as portrayed in these poems. The West has a sense of romance ever since Horace Greely said “Go West Young Man’ to the films of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and all the Western tv shows of the 50’s and 60’s up to the present day.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:19 am
poetry is the energizer of life. Best of luck to all who enter.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:43 am
would love to read this
March 29th, 2008 at 10:37 am
The poems about nature in the American West intrigue me.
March 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I’d love to give this up to my bro in law, he has a native american book and art fetish!
March 29th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Being part Native American and 100% Texan, I’m interested in reading this poetry. Plus, the art on front is cool.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
My favorite type of book is travel essays and stories regarding life. I htink that this one fits the bill.
March 29th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
If we had more poets what a peaceful place it would be. If people expressed there feelings instead of handling them angrily. Helping others wouldn’t seem such a chore and perhaps just perhaps we would be at war.
March 29th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Looks great!
March 29th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
i want to read this book