Around the fountain, there are clusters of metal tables.
this is where you sit when you're old,
beyond the intensities of the fountain.
The fountain is for the young, who still want to look at themselves.
Or for the mothers, who need to keep their children diverted.

In good weather, a few old people linger at the tables.
Life is simple now: one day cognac, one day coffee and a cigarette.
To the couples, it's clear who's on the outskirts of life, who's at the center.


          from 'Tributaries'

From a fountain where 'all the roads in the village unite', concentric circles expand into the distance: the young and old, fields, a river, a mountain – the fountain's stone counterpart, where the roads end, human time superimposed on geological time. Renowned as a lyrical poet of austere intensity, in A Village Life Louise Glück evokes a Mediterranean world with luminous precision. Her focus is on moments of speculation and reflection in a dreamlike present tense.

Cover image: Print by unknown artist, c. 1930, from the Robert O. Muller collection. Cover design: StephenRaw.com

Contents


Twilight
Pastoral
Tributaries
Noon
Before the Storm
Sunset
In the Café
In the Plaza
Dawn
First Snow
Earthworm
At the River
A Corridor
Fatigue
Burning Leaves
Walking at Night
Via delle Ombre
Hunters
A Slip of Paper
Bats
Burning Leaves
March 36

A Night in Spring
Harvest
Confession
Marriage
Primavera
Figs
At the dance
Solitude
Earthworm
Olive trees
Sunrise
A Warm Day
Burning Leaves
Crossroads
Bats
Abundance
Midsummer
Threshing
A Village Life
Note