Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems

“Fire to Fire should solidify Doty’s position as a star of contemporary American poetry. . . . The poems combine close attention to the fragile, contingent things of the world with the constant, almost unavoidable chance of transcendence.” — Publishers Weekly

A landmark collection of new and published works by one of our finest poets that is a testament to the clarity and thoughtful lyricism of his poems

Fire to Fire collects the best works from seven books of poetry by Mark Doty, acclaimed poet and New York Times bestselling author of two memoirs, Firebird and Dog Years.

Doty’s subjects—our mortal situation, the evanescent beauty of the world, desire’s transformative power, and art’s ability to give shape to human lives—echo and develop across twenty years of poems. His signature style encompasses both the plainspoken and the artfully wrought; here one of contemporary American poetry’s most lauded, recognizable voices speaks to the crises and possibilities of our times.

Mark Doty's Fire to Fire collects the best of Mark Doty's seven books of poetry, along with a generous selection of new work. Doty's subjects—our mortal situation, the evanescent beauty of the world, desire's transformative power, and art's ability to give shape to human lives—echo and develop across twenty years of poems. His signature style encompasses both the plainspoken and the artfully wrought; here one of contemporary American poetry's most lauded, recognizable voices speaks to the crises and possibilities of our times.

“Moving, splendidly observant, and unflinching, Mark Doty’s poems extend the range of the American lyric poem.” - American Academy of Arts and Letters

“If words this moving do not constitute great poetry, I’d like to know what does.” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“[Doty] uses language as a way to highlight a moment, elevate it, and unearth hidden depth and meaning. . . . Striking imagery and a powerful imagination are two of his best tools.” - Christian Science Monitor

“Mark Doty still finds wonder in a world of confusion and hardships. Beauty is the object of worship in FIRE TO FIRE, this much needed book of new and selected older poems…The new poems speak from a passionate middle age…Doty takes us with him on his journeys from the everyday to the ecstatic.” - Craig Morgan Teicher, Time Out New York

“Doty is always searching for beauty in a world that can be tragic or simply mundane.” - Newsday

“Doty is terrifically precise as he inspects time’s wreckage. . . . The rhythm of his lines, its syntactical genius, propels us down the page, stopping time when necessary, making the familiar. . . exotic.” - Dallas Morning News

“FIRE TO FIRE should solidify Doty’s position as a star of contemporary American poetry…The poems combine close attention to the fragile, contingent things of the world with the constant, almost unavoidable chance of transcendence.” - Publishers Weekly

“Doty’s facility with his chosen form...is so natural that the craft in his work is all but invisible; he makes the damnably difficult look deceptively simple.” - Booklist

“Showcases Doty’s abiding fondness for examining the human condition” - Washington Post Book World

“Doty displays a gift for interweaving arresting image with tender narrative.” - Slate