from By The Well of Living and Seeing and
The Fifth Book of the Maccabees (1969)

Poems:

By The Well of Living and Seeing
The pigeon saunters...
In the subway car...
The rabbi...
Similes
Epilogue
Early History of a Writer

Bibliographic Notes:

By the Well of Living and Seeing and The Fifth Book of the Maccabees was published by the author in New York in 1969 as a paperbound book in an edition (as he mentioned in a letter) of 200 copies.  It is dedicated "to the memory of ALBERT LEWIN (d.1968)"  and in the author's working copy with correction in his hand he has added the words "in gratitude."  The acknowledgement reads: "(I thank the editors of 'Commentary' for permission to reprint 'The Fifth Book of the Maccabees.' The copyright is in the American Jewish Committee. C.R.)"

The poems in "By the Well of Living and Seeing" (as distinct from the accompanying work "The Fifth Book of the Maccabees") are in three groups or sequences, the first two untitled and comprising 35 and 33 poems respectively, the third titled "Early History of a Writer" and comprising 20 poems.  The entire first group was revised in 1973 and expanded to 53 poems.

Return to the Charles Reznikoff Homepage at the EPC 

Material from
POEMS 1918-1975: THE COMPLETE POEMS OF CHARLES REZNIKOFF Copyright © 1977
by Marie Syrkin Reznikoff and reprinted with the permission of Black Sparrow Press.