The Life of Images: Selected Prose

Author: Charles Simic

Publisher: Ecco (2017)

 In addition to being one of America’s most famous and commended poets, Charles Simic is a prolific and talented essayist. The Life of Images brings together his best prose written over twenty-five years.

A blend of the thoughtful, comic, and tragic, the essays in The Life of Images explore subjects ranging from poetry to philosophy, photography, politics, and art, to Simic’s childhood in a war-torn country. Culled from five collections, these works demonstrate the qualities that make Simic’s poetry so original yet accessible. Whether he is pondering the relationship between history and the individual, or recalling growing up in Belgrade and New York City, Simic shares his distinctive take on the world and offers an intimate look into the life and mind of an immigrant.

“Decades after immigrating to the States in 1954, [Simic] retains an outsider’s perspective: inquisitive, incredulous, amazed by the apparently ordinary—all excellent qualities for an essayist. There’s ample warmth and charm here.”

–New York Times Book Review

“In artful, lucid, and sometimes humorous essays, he offers commanding insights on such diverse topics as poetry’s relationship to philosophy, the ravages of war, and the unpredictable beauties of film and music. . . . His wit shines and sparkles on every page.”

-Publishers Weekly