Wife of Light - Diane Ackerman - The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral

Sep 29, 2026

Wife of Light by Diane Ackerman presents a body of poetic work that draws on metaphysical contemplation and celebrates the illuminating breadth of imagination. The text contrasts it with her earlier poetry collection The Planets, first published in 1976, emphasizing that Wife of Light gathers her gifts in a more general way. It highlights traditional ode and monologue forms, full-rhyming love sonnets, and freer verse, while noting that even the bleak poems ultimately carry a celebratory spirit.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages72

Reading Time1 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgments

Poem publication credits

Special thanks

WFEOF LIGHT Diane Ackerman Diane Ackerman's first book of poetry,ThePlanets,was published in 1976.It intro-duced a writer of astounding brilliance一her language exploded with light and herknowledge augmented her readers'.ThePlanets is a book about just that,our solarsystem. Wife of Light is more a general collectionof her work and marvelously displays hergifts as a modern Metaphysical poet,forwhom,as she says,"the usual realm of poeticpassion and contemplation feels too small.”Although the poems in this book do notexperiment with form as much as do thosein The Planets,there are traditional odes,dramatic monologues,full-rhyming lovesonnets,and freer verse forms. These poems,even the bleak ones,seemultimately to be celebratory. Jacket design by Honi Werner WILLIAM MoRROWw&CoMPANY,INc. WITHDRAWN FROM BURLINOAMEMP09L0-EBRAF39042006585076 BURLNGAME CA 94010 URU 344-7107 | DATE DUE | | | | 59 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | MOV
219 | 79 | N 24 | 995 | | | JU23 | gg1 | | | | | | | | | | | EC6 | 1991 | | | | | /11 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MAY中 | | | | | | NO 12 | 992 | | | | | | | | | | | DC4 | 1994 | | | | | | | | | | | 1
JUN- | 995 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 33 | | | | | | | | GAYLORD | | | PRINTEDINU.S.A | | WITHDRAWN FROM NGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY 2059 811 Ac57w Ac_ 1 一6 · 64p # I.Title WIFEOFLIGHT 5.111 # THE PLANETS:A COSMIC PASTORALWIFE OF LIGHT # WIFEOFLIGHT BY DIANE ACKERMAN 10 6 7210 Copyright C1978 by Diane Ackerman All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced orutilized in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording or by any information storageand retrieval system,without permission in writing from thePublisher.Inquiries should be addressed to William Morrow andCompany,Inc.,105 Madison Ave.,New York,N.Y.10016. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ackerman,Diane.Wife of light. 1.Title.PS3551.C48W5811'.5'477-25297ISBN0-688-03286-9 BOOK DESIGN AND BINDINGCARL WEISS First Edition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 332059 # ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the editors of the following periodicalsfor first publishing some of these poems:Aegis,Ambit,Carolina Quarterly,Chelsea,Chicago Review,Epoch,Granite,Iowa Review,Journal of General Education,Mas-sachusetts Review,New Letters,Prairie Schooner,RemingtonReview,Slough,and Washout Review.Some poems alsoappeared in the following anthologies:The First Anthology,Intro 6 Anthology,and I,That Am Ever Stranger. Special thanks to A.R.Ammons and Paul West,whohave read through the manuscript more times than anyoneshould have to. 1000000000

FAQs

What is the relationship between Wife of Light and The Planets?

The text describes Wife of Light as more of a general collection than The Planets, while also referencing The Planets as her first book of poetry and a cosmic-themed work.

Which poetic forms appear in Wife of Light?

The poems include traditional odes, dramatic monologues, full-rhyming love sonnets, and freer verse forms.

What tone do the poems ultimately convey?

Even the bleak poems are ultimately described as celebratory.

Sep 29, 2026

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