The Voice At 3: 00 A.m.: Selected Late and New Poems

Charles Simic has been widely celebrated for his brilliant poetic imagery; his social, political, and moral alertness; his uncanny ability to make the ordinary extraordinary; and not least, the sardonic humor all his own. Gathering much of his material from the seemingly mundane minutiae of contemporary American culture, Simic matches meditations on spiritual concerns and the weight of history with a nimble wit, shifting effortlessly to moments of clear vision and intense poetic revelation. Chosen as one of the New York Library's 25 Books to Remember for 2003, The Voice at 3:00 A. M. was also nominated for a National Book Award. The recipient of many prizes, Simic most recently received Canada's Griffin Prize. The poems in this collection—spanning two decades of his work—present a rich and varied survey of a remarkable lyrical journey. In the Street Beauty, dark goddess, We met and parted As though we parted not. Like two stopped watches In a dusty store window, One golden morning of time.

Charles Simic has been widely celebrated for his brilliant poetic imagery; his social, political, and moral alertness; his uncanny ability to make the ordinary extraordinary; and not least, a sardonic humor all his own. Gathering much of his material from the seemingly mundane minutia of contemporary American culture, Simic matches meditations on spiritual concerns and the weight of history with a nimble wit, shifting effortlessly to moments of clear vision and intense poetic revelation.
The poems in this collection—spanning two decades of his work—present a rich and varied survey of a remarkable lyrical journey.

The New York Times

This poet's repetitiveness is a complicated matter, because it's intimately related to the themes around which his poetry revolves. Simic can't quite believe in anything, and he can't quite not believe in anything; as a result, his irony and his romanticism can grind against each other in a tortured stasis.— David Orr

One of the leading American poets offers a new collection of poems that plumbs the ordinary American experience for spiritual insights, wit, and historical relevance. 15,000 first printing. One of the leading American poets offers a new collection of poems that plumbs the ordinary American experience for spiritual insights, wit, and historical relevance. Reprint It snows and still the derelicts go carrying sandwich boards-one proclaiming the end of the world the other the rates of a local barbershop.