The Sound: New & Selected Poems

In The Sound, acclaimed poet David Mason collects his best shorter work of the past forty years, including lyrics like “Song of the Powers” and darkly brilliant narratives “The Collector’s Tale” and “The Country I Remember,” which Anthony Hecht called “a welcome addition to the best that is now being written by American poets.” A poet of love and history and nature, Mason forges a language that can reconnect us to the world.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“David Mason delivers a stunning collection that places him in a unique position in American letters. With language both simple and elegant, comprehending deeply if not always comfortably the human landscape, and finding solace in the natural world, his lines remind us that pathos lies alongside humor, that profound moments are often merely a glance away, that new possibilities in the business of living arise for those bold enough to seek them. In his embrace of tradition, Mason transforms and ultimately transcends the form, making it wholly his own. A masterful poet, apart from the crowd.”—Jeffrey Lent, author of A Slant of Light

“From his first full-length narrative poem, The Country I Remember, to his extraordinary verse novel, Ludlow, David Mason’s ambition to expand the realm of narrative in contemporary verse has been central to his poetic project, even as successive collections revealed him as one of the best lyric poets of his generation.”—Charles Martin, author of Future Perfect

“One of our most authentic and accomplished poets at the top of his lyric form.”—Andrew Frisardi, author of Death of a Dissembler