Technicians of the Sacred: A Range of Poetries from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, Second edition, Revised and Expanded (Paperback)

by Jerome Rothenberg (Editor)

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Product Details

Paperback: 636 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 2nd Revised edition edition (May 8 1985)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520049128
ISBN-13: 978-0520049123
Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 15.5 x 4.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 930 g

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #375,551 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Since its first publication in 1968, Jerome Rothenberg's Technicians of the Sacred has educated a generation of poets, artists, and readers to the multiple faces and possibilities of poetry throughout the world. Hailed by Robert Creeley as "both a deeply useful work book and an unequivocal delight," and by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as one of the hundred most recommended American books of the last thirty-five years, it appears here in a revised and expanded version several years in the making. Rothenberg's revision follows the structure and themes of the original version while reworking the contents to include a European section and a large number of newly gathered and translated poems that reflect the work set in motion since 1968.

From the Inside Flap

"Technicians of the Sacred presents 'primitive' and ancient poetries as the incantations they are, loaded with power and very full of the magic that invests all good poetry. The treatment is fascinating...the commentaries are a gold mine of responses to the material by a strong poet (the editor), and his selection of analogous writings from a broad range of contemporary poets."--David P. McAllester

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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5.0 out of 5 stars Technicians of the Sacred, Oct 7 2007

By	Tami Brady "Whole Health Therapist" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Technicians of the Sacred was compiled by Rothenberg after attending two 1964 readings of "Primitive and Archaic Poetry" at The Poet's Hardware Theater and the Caf� Metro in New York city. Intrigued with the deep intuition of these works, Rothenberg decided to collect poetry, songs, and chants from around the world.

Rothenberg's intention was not to focus on any one particular aspect of the sacred but merely to compile material that was available in English and the book's organization directly reflects this lack of apparent direction. Works are subdivided into nine sections: Origins & Namings; Visions & Spells; Death & Defeat; The Book of Events (I); The Book of Events (II); Africa; America; Asia; Europe & The Ancient Near East; and Oceana. Having material from the first five sections more or less focused around a specific theme while the remaining five sections reflect a geographic focus the work feeling a little thrown together and disorganized.

This disorganization is further reflected within each section, where there is everything from modern poetry and prose through traditional songs and chants to ancient pictographs and artwork. Moreover works from individual cultural groups are not placed together but dispersed throughout each section.

That the work only reflects English translations is also somewhat problematic. A Commentary section at the back of the book explains how Rothenberg came across each work offering explanations about the themes and topics within a particular piece. However, more often than not, these notes did not describe how the piece was translated. This lack of information would be particularly useful as Rothenberg states that the translations vary from literal to very free. This book does contain a number of interesting and useful pieces. Rothenberg has chosen a good mixture of poetry from a variety of different sources, not just the most accessible and he illustrates poems from the Paleolithic through to modern times. Moreover, this book contains some very interesting and intriguing transitional pieces reflecting Christian religious teaching modified into traditional forms. Thus, despite some very irritating and distracting organizational problems, this book contains some very valuable information. This information will likely be of use to those wishing to gain insight into aspects of the sacred in general or those wanting insight into the belief systems of particular cultures. Nonetheless, the apparent lack of organization of these pieces make this book an unlikely candidate as a classroom text.

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5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary, unique and delightful anthology., Jun 5 2001

By	Douglas Wolk "dbcloud" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I was introduced to this book by a fiction writing teacher to whom I'll always be grateful. It's a fresh, ingenious selection of ritual and sacred poetry from around the world, translated with irreverence and raw attitude. If you're used to the vague New Age-isms of what usually gets thought of as "ritual" and "sacred," pick this up and get a jolt--Rothenberg finds incredibly powerful language in places where it wouldn't occur to most people to look, and he's not afraid of crudeness and hilarity. Amazing stuff. A friend of mine has worn out copies of both the first edition and this one, and I don't blame her.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring for artists, Jun 2 2000

By A Customer

Back in the 1970s I discovered this book. It became my companion. Its rich poetry, its multitudes of rituals and images have inspired my batiks and paintings for the past thirty years. What variety and life!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Listen
As we begin to see this earth suffer the effects of our presence here, these poems -with roots in every continent- speak together of this planet as a sacred place. Read more

Published on Mar 14 2000 by benjamin berlin