Bly is best known for his 1990 book iron john vintage, which proposes that modern men suffer from a lack of male mentors and initiation rituals. A little book on the human shadow robert bly download. Iron john was first published in 1990 and was a bestseller, a cultural phenomena. Michael venturas interview with robert bly the wind isnt depressed, may 2004 is a perfect example. Aug 02, 2001 iron john searches for a new vision of what a man is or could be, drawing on psychology, anthropology, mythology, folklore and legend.
Wherever the wound appears in our psyches, whether from alcoholic father, shaming mother, shaming father, abusing mother, whether it stems from isolation, disability, or disease, that is precisely the place for which we will give our major gift to the community. The author of dozens of books of poetry and translation, bly s work is based in the natural world, the visionary, and the realm of the irrational. The michigan daily archives undoubtedly has the article i wrote in the huge, yellowed volumes in its dusty library if the library or the volumes or the dust are still there. Awardwinning poet and translator robert bly offers nothing less than a new vision. The people who believe the us government are too stupid to be called human, or monkeys for that matter. As robert blys vietnam poem shows, those few who pay attention have known for many decades that everything the us government says is a lie. Eady says bly s poems seem to come from his delight in the.
A book about men by robert bly free pdf d0wnl0ad, audio books. At this web site, readers will find information on every facet of robert blys literary. His resulting book about this ageold story helped establish the mens movement, and his seminars inspired its drumbeating, tree. The prized conditions, according to donald wesling, another admirer of his work, are not understanding and not saying. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. This is a prose poem where the author opens his heart and intellect to us. Martin amis return of the male lrb 5 december 1991. A couple good friends recommended iron john by robert bly to me, and i recently finished it. Influences on his poetry include the poets he has translated and the seventeenthcentury mystic jakob boehme. In recent years he has been a leading figure in the mens movement, for which he has written successful manifestos, including the widely read iron john 1992. Robert bly born december 23, 1926 is an american poet, author, activist and leader of the mythopoetic mens movement, most famous for his iron john.
The europeans i know of who remember the dark side best are robert louis stevenson, joseph conrad, and carl jung. Iron john, a short work of psychological, literary and anthropological speculation by the poet robert bly, dominated the new york times bestseller list for nearly a year, and has made, as we shall see, a heavy impact on many aspects of american life. Poetry translations prose essays and interviews anthologies and edited books books about robert bly. Robert blys long epilogue with alzheimers disease the. In this section, you will find poetry and prose publications by robert bly, as well as a few books about robert bly. Iron john searches for a new vision of what a man is or could be, drawing on psychology, anthropology, mythology, folklore and legend. Revisiting jill johnstons critique of robert bly and iron john. Sometimes i skip chapters or paragraphs from my readings but this i read from first line to last. Nov 10, 2015 finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, bly uses the grimm fairy tale iron john in which a mentor or wild man guides a young man through eight stages of male growthto remind us of ways of knowing long forgotten, images of deep and vigorous masculinity centered in feeling and protective of the young. A book about men 1990, bly argues that modern men are greatly damaged by an absence of intergenerational male role models and initiation. Bly used jungian psychology, various myths, legends, folklores, and fairy tales to analyze iron john, and he believes this fairy tale contains lessons from the past of great importance to modern men. Ill call up a few of their ideas and add a few thoughts of my own. Robert bly, author of more than 40 books of poetry and nonfiction, speaks with host cornelius eady, a poet and creative writing teacher.
W ith the publication this year of robert blys selected poems a volume preceded by a number of books celebrating this writers work the time has surely come to take a closer critical look at one of the most radical poetic careers of our time. Iron john author robert bly talks about his poetry and. More about this poem prayer for my father by robert bly about this poet american writer robert bly is regarded as one of the legends of contemporary poetry, according to david biespel, the prototypical nonmodernist the one who set in motion a poetics of intensity for generations to come. Ventura and james hillmans book, weve had a hundred years of psychotherapy and the worlds getting worse, condemns the accommodationist approach of therapy, which seeks to help people adjust to intolerable conditions. Robert bly is currently considered a single author. Robert bly born december 23, 1926 is an american poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic mens movement. Apr 20, 2020 robert bly, american poet, translator, editor, and author, perhaps best known as the author of iron john. In iron john, robert bly presented a moderately interesting idea in a very unsatisfying way.
Zelazny jan iron john a gathering of men with bill moyers, made robert bly a household name. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, bly uses the grimm fairy tale iron john, in which the narrator, or wild man, guides a young man through eight stages of male growth, to remind us of archetypes long forgottenimages of vigorous masculinity, both protective and emotionally centered. Blys vision is based on his ongoing work with men, as well as on reflections on his. An exegesis of iron john, a parable about a boy maturing into adulthood with help of the wild man, and part of the grimms fairy tales published in 1812 by german folklorists brothers grimm, it spent 62 weeks on the. Women read iron john openly, hoping to glean some insider information while men read the book furtivelyat least at f. A book about men 1990, reprinted 2001 as iron john. Dec 02, 2016 the poetry breaks series is a series of videos filmed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by creator leita luchetti, who coproduced the series with the wgbh new television workshops.
Blys vision is based on his ongoing work with men and reflections on his own life. Written by the poet robert bly, its an odd journey through the archetypal psychic development of men in western culture, focusing on the uses of and need for initiation rites and spiritual life, and a jungian interpretation of the fairy tale iron john. Women read iron john openly, hoping to glean some insider information while men read the book furtivelyat least at first. Robert blys poem is framed by its title driving through minnesota during the hanoi bombings. Young men need initiation into adulthood, to be welcomed among the fathers of the world, or they rage and sulk alone through life. A book about men 1990, which spent 62 weeks on the the new york times best seller list. A book about men 1990, a response to the womens movement, bly has been immensely popular, appearing on talk shows and advising men to retrieve their primitive masculinity through wildness. A book about men 1990, which spent 62 weeks on the new york times best seller list, and is a key text of the mythopoetic mens movement. For the light around the body he won the 1968 national book award for poetry.
By the book may 2, 20 the poet and critic, whose correspondence with the poet tomas transtromer, airmail, has just been published, was influenced by. Olaf college in minnesota, he transferred to harvard and thereby joined the famous group of writers who were undergraduates at that time, which included donald hall, adrienne rich, kenneth koch, john ashbery, harold brodky, george. It was a dense, interesting book examining modern masculinity and what men and women can learn about manhood from myths and stories of cultures around the world. The book uses a fairy tale from the brothers grimm to outline the parts of what bly believes make a whole and wholesome man. In this deeply learned book, poet and translator robert bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it is to be a. Revisiting jill johnstons critique of robert bly and iron john the. The speaker is in a car with a companion, driving through the summer countryside while listening to a. It says that where a mans wound is, that is where his genius will be.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read iron john. He enlisted in the navy in 1944 and spent two years there. Drawing upon jungian psychology, myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales the title is taken from a story by the brothers grimm, the book demonstrates blys masculinist convictions. Blys best poetry, according to william heyen in robert bly.
Iron john 1990 robert bly robert bly is a wellrespected american poet. The poetry breaks series is a series of videos filmed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by creator leita luchetti, who coproduced the series with the. Iron john author robert bly talks about his poetry and music. Bly had been giving talks on mythology to supplement his income, and found that the brothers grimm tale iron john hit a nerve with men. Robert bly himself has always insisted that, of the many poetic movements spawned during the sixties, none was more radical than his.
The 25th anniversary edition of the groundbreaking new york times bestseller, with a new afterword by the authorwhich offers a new vision. A book about men, edition 3 ebook written by robert bly. Little doubt but that monkeys are vastly smarter than anyone who believes the us government. A book about men paperback july 28, 2004 by robert bly author visit amazons robert bly page. The author of dozens of books of poetry and translation, blys work is based. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Robert bly, renowned poet and author of the groundbreaking bestseller iron john, mingles essay and verse to explore the shadow the dark side of the human personality and the importance of confronting it. Iron john, which launched a million men drumming in the woods, bly has. Robert bly, renowned poet and author of the groundbreaking bestseller iron john, mingles essay and verse to explore the shadow the dark side of the human personality. Robert bly, poet and cultural firebrand, has been stirring up controversy for the past forty years.
In this deeply learned book, poet and translator robert bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it is to be a man. Bly s vision is based on his ongoing work with men and reflections on his own life. Mar 20, 2012 robert bly, author of more than 40 books of poetry and nonfiction, speaks with host cornelius eady, a poet and creative writing teacher. An exegesis of iron john, a parable about a boy maturing into adulthood with help of the wild man, and part of the grimms fairy tales published in 1812 by german folklorists brothers grimm, it spent 62 weeks on the new york times best seller list and went on to. There was smoke from the engine curling up lightly through fir tops, and the engine sounds. By the mid1990s, one could observe men dressed in tatters of leather, middleaged bellies flapping in. Poet robert bly stands out even among the celebrated, revolutionary generation of american artists who burst forth in the 1950s. Bly often read the poem in a grotesque rubber mask of an ancient, mad crone. A book about men is a book by american poet robert bly published in 1990 by addisonwesley, and is his bestknown work.
Aug 19, 2012 a couple good friends recommended iron john by robert bly to me, and i recently finished it. Tell me about the train that people say got buried by the avalanchewas it snow. When sleepers awake, has always defied serious inquiry and involved that is, complex explication. The author of dozens of books of poetry and translation, blys work is based in the natural world, the visionary, and the realm of the irrational. American writer robert bly is regarded as one of the legends of contemporary poetry, according to david biespel, the prototypical nonmodernist the one who set in motion a poetics of intensity for generations to come.
Bly has received many awards, including the national book award, for his poetry. Drawing upon jungian psychology, myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales, the book demonstrates blys masculinist convictions. His wideranging achievements in poetry, criticism, and translation, as well as his work as editor and itinerant apologist for poetry and various. The bespectacled, whitehaired bly is every inch the politically and spiritually. His resulting book about this ageold story helped establish the mens movement, and. Topics iron john collection opensource language english. Drawing upon jungian psychology, myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales the title is taken from a story by the. A book about men robert bly in this deeply learned book, poet and translator robert bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it is to be a man. Poet robert bly has for a number of years now worn another hat. There were all those people readingsome from thoreau, some from henry ward beecher. A big poem on masculinity, every man should read this book. A book about men made him internationally famous, long before he was taken up as the popular bard of the new age movement. Robert bly is a poet, author, translator, activist, and leader of the mythopoetic mens movement. A thousand years of joy charts blys singular path from farmers son on a wintry minnesota farm to radical antivietnam war activist to wild man of the 1990s mens movement.
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