The Not Yet Fallen World draws from all nineteen of Stephen Dunn's crystalline volumes, including his most recent, Pagan Virtues (2019); the National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist Loosestrife (1996); and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Different Hours (2000). By turns sardonic and profound, Dunn examines the disguises we don to hide from ourselves and reveals sublime beauty hidden within seemingly mundane interactions. Nine new poems extend the poet's inquiry into the paradoxes of contemporary life; as he writes in "Love Poem Near the End of the World," "Something keeps me holding on / to a future I didn't think possible."
Arranged to further Dunn's signature themes--mortality, morality, and the roles we play in the essential human comedy of getting through each day--this final collection captures the breadth of an acclaimed poet's achievement. His legacy is a poetic expanse suffused with fearless generosity and perceptive wisdom.