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_tourist's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this little loosely connected collection of poems. It was my first Gary Snyder book after I had him recommended by a friend. I am a relative newbie when it comes to poetry however, and even less adept at reviews, so I cannot really comment further.
stupidpieceofhuman's review against another edition
4.0
when i picked up this book from library, two things attracted me to borrow this - 1. the title of the book reminded me of david lynch and mark frost's creation, "twin peaks", and 2. i read one gary snyder poem, and it intrigued me to borrow this book to read more of his poems.
some years ago, i read, one of my all-time most favourite writers, jack kerouac's "the dharma bums" where he embarked on a journey to climb a mountain and to stay in a house nearby (perhaps) with one of his friends accompanying him. yes, that friend was gary snyder. this book of poems actually four-dimensional. it works on as journal, poem, observation, and observation as/in poems. i haven't read much beat poetry except allen ginsberg but this one also has that beatnik approach which i quite liked. snyder took the poems in spiritual plane through the perspective of a environmentalist which he is. the poems are not chronologically arranged but they still has its beatness. the poems are intricate to nature. nature becomes the integral part not only of the poems but also of the poet or vice-versa.
reading this book is a unique experience, for it is experimental and different from the poetry i have read before, as far as i can guess.
p.s. also reading this, it reminded me of jerry horne, benjamin horne's brother, in the third season of "twin peaks"- "twin peaks:the return" where he took a trip to the forests, but snyder was not lost as jerry comically was in the show. :D
some years ago, i read, one of my all-time most favourite writers, jack kerouac's "the dharma bums" where he embarked on a journey to climb a mountain and to stay in a house nearby (perhaps) with one of his friends accompanying him. yes, that friend was gary snyder. this book of poems actually four-dimensional. it works on as journal, poem, observation, and observation as/in poems. i haven't read much beat poetry except allen ginsberg but this one also has that beatnik approach which i quite liked. snyder took the poems in spiritual plane through the perspective of a environmentalist which he is. the poems are not chronologically arranged but they still has its beatness. the poems are intricate to nature. nature becomes the integral part not only of the poems but also of the poet or vice-versa.
reading this book is a unique experience, for it is experimental and different from the poetry i have read before, as far as i can guess.
p.s. also reading this, it reminded me of jerry horne, benjamin horne's brother, in the third season of "twin peaks"- "twin peaks:the return" where he took a trip to the forests, but snyder was not lost as jerry comically was in the show. :D
lawrence_retold's review against another edition
3.0
The most intriguing aspect to me of Danger on Peaks was Gary Snyder's blending of poetry and poetic prose in about half of its pieces, many seemingly inspired by (though not completely qualifying as) the Japanese form known as haibun. The prose is tight, even, measured, and for me it was a real jolt regardless to see it here and accept it as a legitimate part of a collection of poetry. Often, Snyder's prose sets the context for a set of words that would appear disjointed otherwise; it's as if you're walking through a landscape, and suddenly run across a poem about the sights, written on a wall (or hanging from a tree!). There are several instances, too, in which Snyder quotes other people's poems inside his own; but that, far from seeming like a cheap substitute for personal creativity, ends up reading more like a commitment to include whatever might be present: a placing of a foreign stone within your own garden, perhaps. The last poem in the book is actually a translation (from the Chinese), and it's marvelous.
What I was a little disappointed by here is that, though Snyder is always a careful and clear observer, there don't seem to be many "work poems" in the style of his earlier books (this being the seventh book of Snyder's poetry I've read, and the chronologically latest). He goes around intaking his environment, but doesn't much interact with it. It's to be expected: he was in his seventies when this book was published, and it's hard to imagine Snyder writing poetry that doesn't reflect his current life. Still, though: his old age does seem to slightly weaken his field of sources. While "... back down the pilgrim / stone walkway that leads there / lined with street shops and stalls, packed with / babies in strollers, old folks in wheelchairs, girls in their tank tops" is an admirable juxtaposition of the modern world with the more mythic, older backdrop Snyder loves to inhabit, I don't get nearly as much of a sense from it of Snyder the character, the old backwoods source-interpreter. No shame on him, of course; that's just to be expected from the course of a life. The fact that this book didn't measure up to something like [b:Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems|10922|Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems|Gary Snyder|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1166361756s/10922.jpg|655929] for me is hardly an essential element.
What I was a little disappointed by here is that, though Snyder is always a careful and clear observer, there don't seem to be many "work poems" in the style of his earlier books (this being the seventh book of Snyder's poetry I've read, and the chronologically latest). He goes around intaking his environment, but doesn't much interact with it. It's to be expected: he was in his seventies when this book was published, and it's hard to imagine Snyder writing poetry that doesn't reflect his current life. Still, though: his old age does seem to slightly weaken his field of sources. While "... back down the pilgrim / stone walkway that leads there / lined with street shops and stalls, packed with / babies in strollers, old folks in wheelchairs, girls in their tank tops" is an admirable juxtaposition of the modern world with the more mythic, older backdrop Snyder loves to inhabit, I don't get nearly as much of a sense from it of Snyder the character, the old backwoods source-interpreter. No shame on him, of course; that's just to be expected from the course of a life. The fact that this book didn't measure up to something like [b:Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems|10922|Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems|Gary Snyder|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1166361756s/10922.jpg|655929] for me is hardly an essential element.
whatsbookinjenni's review
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
I've read Gary Snyder a few times (since first reading him in a class in college) and I like his approach to nature and the way he writes about the natural world, so I enjoyed this but was not blown away. At times, Snyder reminds me of Mary Oliver, but I think I enjoy Oliver's poetry even more. A solid collection though!
kamen's review
5.0
"The mountain above the lake: they reflected each other. Maybe the mountain in the lake survives."
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