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Jonathan Greene is not only the
author of several Broadstone Books, but as
the designer of all of our titles and our mentor
in all matters of publishing, he is a major
creative contributor to all that we do. We are
proud to present his works on this page.
author of several Broadstone Books, but as
the designer of all of our titles and our mentor
in all matters of publishing, he is a major
creative contributor to all that we do. We are
proud to present his works on this page.
Photo by Dobree Adams
HEART MATTERS
Collecting Greene's poetry written since Fault
Lines, this verse indeed surveys the matters
closest to his heart, including both the personal
and, increasingly, the social and political. In
language spare but never sparse, he opens our
hearts along with his own.
"Greene's poems are flawless." Ron Silliman
"There is a lyric delight in the world that informs
all of Greene's poetry, from man's pratfalls to the
occasions of moment. There is a human face
staring at us from these pages - yours, mine - one
that has Greene chuckling or rapt, our heads
nodding alongside or shaking with the sweet
peccadilloes our nature permits" J. W. Bonner
Published 2008, 144 pages
Paperback
ISBN 978-0-9802117-0-2
$17.50
Collecting Greene's poetry written since Fault
Lines, this verse indeed surveys the matters
closest to his heart, including both the personal
and, increasingly, the social and political. In
language spare but never sparse, he opens our
hearts along with his own.
"Greene's poems are flawless." Ron Silliman
"There is a lyric delight in the world that informs
all of Greene's poetry, from man's pratfalls to the
occasions of moment. There is a human face
staring at us from these pages - yours, mine - one
that has Greene chuckling or rapt, our heads
nodding alongside or shaking with the sweet
peccadilloes our nature permits" J. W. Bonner
Published 2008, 144 pages
Paperback
ISBN 978-0-9802117-0-2
$17.50
ON THE BANKS OF MONKS POND:
THE THOMAS MERTON / JONATHAN GREENE
CORRESPONDENCE
"A wonderful gift."
- Brother Patrick Hart, General Editor, The Journals of Thomas
Merton
"...a delightful, beautifully produced little volume detailing the
involvement of the poet and publisher Jonathan Greene with
Thomas Merton and his participation with the publication of
Monks Pond. It is a book of interest to Merton aficionados, to
followers of new movements and trends in poetry, creative
writing, and printing, and to many others."
- Paul M. Pearson, Merton Center, Bellarmine University
This is a book that might well begin, "Once upon a time...and a
place." The time, 1967 and 1968, a period of now mythic
cultural significance; the place, central Kentucky, from all
appearances far from the epicenters of that cultural upheaval.
Yet it was then and there that Jonathan Greene, a young poet
and fledgling publisher from New York City by way of
California, met Thomas Merton. The result was the tragically
brief friendship and literary collaboration that is celebrated in this
volume.
Greene's introductory memoir sets the scene, describing the
unexpectedly rich intellectual and artistic milieu out in the
"hinterland" of Kentucky where he was introduced to Merton
through mutual friends. Two brief essays on Merton provide
further context for the letters that follow, and demonstrate both
the breadth of Merton's literary interests and the depth of
Greene's knowledge of his friend's writings. Their letters, all too
few, coincided with the limited run of Merton's literary journal,
Monks Pond, and his exchange with Greene reveals two deeply
erudite and abundantly witty minds at work with the earnest joy
of language. The longing of the reader that this collaboration
might have lasted many more years is underscored by the
poignancy of Greene's elegiac poem that closes the volume.
THE THOMAS MERTON / JONATHAN GREENE
CORRESPONDENCE
"A wonderful gift."
- Brother Patrick Hart, General Editor, The Journals of Thomas
Merton
"...a delightful, beautifully produced little volume detailing the
involvement of the poet and publisher Jonathan Greene with
Thomas Merton and his participation with the publication of
Monks Pond. It is a book of interest to Merton aficionados, to
followers of new movements and trends in poetry, creative
writing, and printing, and to many others."
- Paul M. Pearson, Merton Center, Bellarmine University
This is a book that might well begin, "Once upon a time...and a
place." The time, 1967 and 1968, a period of now mythic
cultural significance; the place, central Kentucky, from all
appearances far from the epicenters of that cultural upheaval.
Yet it was then and there that Jonathan Greene, a young poet
and fledgling publisher from New York City by way of
California, met Thomas Merton. The result was the tragically
brief friendship and literary collaboration that is celebrated in this
volume.
Greene's introductory memoir sets the scene, describing the
unexpectedly rich intellectual and artistic milieu out in the
"hinterland" of Kentucky where he was introduced to Merton
through mutual friends. Two brief essays on Merton provide
further context for the letters that follow, and demonstrate both
the breadth of Merton's literary interests and the depth of
Greene's knowledge of his friend's writings. Their letters, all too
few, coincided with the limited run of Merton's literary journal,
Monks Pond, and his exchange with Greene reveals two deeply
erudite and abundantly witty minds at work with the earnest joy
of language. The longing of the reader that this collaboration
might have lasted many more years is underscored by the
poignancy of Greene's elegiac poem that closes the volume.
FAULT LINES
"The most important poems any of us ever encounter
are those that show fresh ways of looking at the
world. This book is rich with poems like that."
- Ted Kooser, United States Poet Laureate
"Jonathan Greene's poems find the hidden seams and
fractures in our experience, in our memory. With
exact words and precise cadence he not only locates
fault lines that separate, but the bonds that bring us
together. Fault Lines shows both the scale and range
of Greene's achievements."
- Robert Morgan
Jonathan Greene once more displays that lapidary
grace that readers have admired and critics praised
repeatedly over the past five decades. The title
invokes those flaws concealed within the solidity of
everyday objects, waiting patient years to shatter at an
unsuspecting touch, former use abandoned to the
fragmentary evidence of how they were made and
how they ended. Just so the poems here offer
unexpected insights into the various shards of life that
engage Greene’s notice: a friend’s father’s shirt, his
parent’s bed as a child, walking sticks, his woodstove,
the heartbeat of a phonograph needle, a cricket who
one-ups him in storytelling. These are poems infused
with poignancy and loss, guilt and anguish, irony and
the occasional caustic commentary, but also love and
delight in life, and always great good wit and deep
humanity.
"The most important poems any of us ever encounter
are those that show fresh ways of looking at the
world. This book is rich with poems like that."
- Ted Kooser, United States Poet Laureate
"Jonathan Greene's poems find the hidden seams and
fractures in our experience, in our memory. With
exact words and precise cadence he not only locates
fault lines that separate, but the bonds that bring us
together. Fault Lines shows both the scale and range
of Greene's achievements."
- Robert Morgan
Jonathan Greene once more displays that lapidary
grace that readers have admired and critics praised
repeatedly over the past five decades. The title
invokes those flaws concealed within the solidity of
everyday objects, waiting patient years to shatter at an
unsuspecting touch, former use abandoned to the
fragmentary evidence of how they were made and
how they ended. Just so the poems here offer
unexpected insights into the various shards of life that
engage Greene’s notice: a friend’s father’s shirt, his
parent’s bed as a child, walking sticks, his woodstove,
the heartbeat of a phonograph needle, a cricket who
one-ups him in storytelling. These are poems infused
with poignancy and loss, guilt and anguish, irony and
the occasional caustic commentary, but also love and
delight in life, and always great good wit and deep
humanity.
Jonathan Greene is the author of over 30 books
and more than 250 poems that have appeared in over 80
magazines and anthologies. He was born in New York City
in 1943, and lived in San Francisco twice in the 1960’s. He
graduated from Bard College in 1965, where he studied
American Literature with Ralph Ellison. He has also studied
poetry with Robert Lowell and folklore with Alan Dundes.
and more than 250 poems that have appeared in over 80
magazines and anthologies. He was born in New York City
in 1943, and lived in San Francisco twice in the 1960’s. He
graduated from Bard College in 1965, where he studied
American Literature with Ralph Ellison. He has also studied
poetry with Robert Lowell and folklore with Alan Dundes.
GISTS, ORTS, SHARDS:
A Commonplace Book
For 500 years teachers and scholars have commended
the practice of recording “commonplaces” – that is,
striking and noteworthy phrases encountered while
reading – for later reference. Few in recent times
have taken this advice with such good effect as
Jonathan Greene. A poet, publisher, book designer
and translator, Greene is foremost a reader of vast
range and expansive curiosity, and the fruits of over
forty years of reading with pen in hand are collected
here for the delight and enlightenment of his fellow
readers. Ancient Chinese sages mingle with modern
jazz masters, Yogi Berra meets Einstein, and the
wisdom (and wit) of great minds known and
unknown is on parade. In the end, this collection of
such seemingly disparate thinkers and themes
coalesces into an original work in its own right, an
intellectual and artistic portrait of Greene himself,
offering new and deeper insights into the mind and
heart behind his many volumes of poetry.
Published 2006, 96 pages
Paperback
ISBN 0-9721144-5-9
$15.00
A Commonplace Book
For 500 years teachers and scholars have commended
the practice of recording “commonplaces” – that is,
striking and noteworthy phrases encountered while
reading – for later reference. Few in recent times
have taken this advice with such good effect as
Jonathan Greene. A poet, publisher, book designer
and translator, Greene is foremost a reader of vast
range and expansive curiosity, and the fruits of over
forty years of reading with pen in hand are collected
here for the delight and enlightenment of his fellow
readers. Ancient Chinese sages mingle with modern
jazz masters, Yogi Berra meets Einstein, and the
wisdom (and wit) of great minds known and
unknown is on parade. In the end, this collection of
such seemingly disparate thinkers and themes
coalesces into an original work in its own right, an
intellectual and artistic portrait of Greene himself,
offering new and deeper insights into the mind and
heart behind his many volumes of poetry.
Published 2006, 96 pages
Paperback
ISBN 0-9721144-5-9
$15.00
Photo by Dobree Adams
DISTILLATIONS AND SIPHONINGS
This latest collection of Greene's poetry is his 30th title in a
writing career now spanning five decades!
Includes the poems "At the Mall," "City Scene in Snow" and
"Summer Trips" featured on The Writer's Almanac with
Garrison Keillor.
"Jonathan is at the peak of his art in Distillations and
Siphonings. His poems have never been more alert, more
spare, more startling in unexpected connections and quirky
observations. In many poems he is witness to the
infinitesimal, the most fleeting event or thought. Often
poems turn on subtle or sly wit. While we can read them
separately as epigrams, they accumulate like carefully
wrought marginalia on the book of life, troubled by the woes
and cruelties of our time, warmed by affection and
cherished friendships. The poems delight us as the
meditations of an examined life, patient, wise, gifted, artful."
—Robert Morgan (from Foreword)
Published 2010
ISBN 978-0-9802117-3-3
Paperback, 128 pages
$16.00
This latest collection of Greene's poetry is his 30th title in a
writing career now spanning five decades!
Includes the poems "At the Mall," "City Scene in Snow" and
"Summer Trips" featured on The Writer's Almanac with
Garrison Keillor.
"Jonathan is at the peak of his art in Distillations and
Siphonings. His poems have never been more alert, more
spare, more startling in unexpected connections and quirky
observations. In many poems he is witness to the
infinitesimal, the most fleeting event or thought. Often
poems turn on subtle or sly wit. While we can read them
separately as epigrams, they accumulate like carefully
wrought marginalia on the book of life, troubled by the woes
and cruelties of our time, warmed by affection and
cherished friendships. The poems delight us as the
meditations of an examined life, patient, wise, gifted, artful."
—Robert Morgan (from Foreword)
Published 2010
ISBN 978-0-9802117-3-3
Paperback, 128 pages
$16.00
Published 2004, 58 pages
Paperback
ISBN 0-9721144-1-6
$14.50
Paperback
ISBN 0-9721144-1-6
$14.50
Published 2004, 64 pages
Clothbound
ISBN 0-9721144-2-4
$22.50
Clothbound
ISBN 0-9721144-2-4
$22.50
Photo by Dobree Adams
Since 1965 Greene has edited and published over 50 books
under the Gnomon Press imprint, including works by Robert
Duncan, Wendell Berry, Jonathan Williams, James Still and
others. He now does free-lance book design (including all of
Broadstone's titles to date) and has won a number of awards
in the field.
Greene moved to Kentucky in 1966, where he still lives on a
farm outside of Frankfort with his wife, Dobree Adams,
herself a noted weaver and photographer.
under the Gnomon Press imprint, including works by Robert
Duncan, Wendell Berry, Jonathan Williams, James Still and
others. He now does free-lance book design (including all of
Broadstone's titles to date) and has won a number of awards
in the field.
Greene moved to Kentucky in 1966, where he still lives on a
farm outside of Frankfort with his wife, Dobree Adams,
herself a noted weaver and photographer.
SPECIAL OFFER on the purchase of Gists Orts,
Shards and the new companion volume, Gists,
Orts Shards II. See Broadstone Books page for
details!
Shards and the new companion volume, Gists,
Orts Shards II. See Broadstone Books page for
details!