Samuel Menashe

Born in New York city in 1925, Samuel Menashe has practiced his art of compression and crystallization (in Derek Mahon's phrase) in poems that are brief in form but startingly wide-ranging and profound in their engagement with ultimate questions. Dana Gioia has written: Menashe is essentially a religious poet, though one without an orthodox creed. Nearly every poem he has ever published radiates a heightened religious awareness. Samuel Menashe is the first recipient of the Neglected Masters Award established by The Poetry Foundation, and this volume is published in conjunction with that honor.