in the Sierramountain writingsby Kenneth rexrothedited by

Kim Stanley robinSon

a new directionS booK

Copyright © 1981, 1991 by the Kenneth Rexroth TrustCopyright © 1939, 1940, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1981

by Kenneth RexrothCopyright © 1944, 1950, 1951, 1968, 2012 by New Directions Publishing CorporationCopyright © 1981 by James LaughlinCopyright © 2005 by the Trustees of the New Directions Ownership TrustCopyright © 2006 by the Estate of James LaughlinCopyright © 2012 by Kim Stanley RobinsonCopyright © 2012 by Carter Scholz

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in a newspaper, magazine, radio, televi-sion, or website review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any infor-mation storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Design by Sylvia Frezzolini SeveranceManufactured in the United States of AmericaFirst published as a New Directions Paperbook (NDP1228) in 2012.Published simultaneously in Canada by Penguin Books Canada LimitedNew Directions Books are printed on acid-free paper.

The editor, Kim Stanley Robinson, wishes to thank: Bradford Morrow, Gary Snyder, Sean O’Grady, Carter Scholz, Terry Bisson, Tom Killion, Declan Spring, Rachelle Lerner, David Robertson, and Dana Gioia. Special thanks to Ken Knabb.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataRexroth, Kenneth, 1905–1982.In the Sierra : mountain writings / by Kenneth Rexroth ; edited by Kim Stanley Robinson.p. cm.ISBN 978-0-8112-1902-0 (acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-0-8112-1989-11. Rexroth, Kenneth, 1905–1982. 2. Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)—Literary collections. I. Robinson, Kim Stanley. II. Title.PS3535.E923I5 2012818'.52—dc23                                                           2012002757

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

New Directions Books are published for James Laughlinby New Directions Publishing Corporation80 Eighth Avenue, New York 10011ndbooks.com

table oF contentS

Introduction xvMap xx

Kenneth rexroth’s mountain Poetry

From IN WHAT HOUR (1940)

Climbing Milestone Mountain, August 22, 1937 3North Palisade, the End of September, 1939 5Hiking on the Coast Range 6On What Planet 7Toward an Organic Philosophy 8Falling Leaves and Early Snow 12The Heart Unbroken and the Courage Free 13Value In Mountains 13A Lesson in Geography 17Ice Shall Cover Nineveh 21

From THE ART OF WORLDLY WISDOM (1949)

In the Memory of Andrée Rexroth, part c 31

From THE PHOENIX AND THE TORTOISE (1944)

Another Spring 32Night Below Zero 32Inversely, as the Square of Their Distances Apart 33Andrée Rexroth 35Andrée Rexroth 36

viii

Strength Through Joy 37Incarnation 38

From THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS (1949)

Lyell’s Hypothesis Again 40Blues 42Andrée Rexroth 43

From BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS (1951)

From Hermaios 47From Berenike 48

From THE DRAGON AND THE UNICORN (1952)

Time Spirals 52Mirror 53Final passage of The Dragon and the Unicorn 54

From IN DEFENSE OF THE EARTH (1956)

A Living Pearl 64The Lights in the Sky Are Stars 67Time Is the Mercy of Eternity 75Mary and the Seasons 81

From NATURAL NUMBERS (1964)

Homer in Basic 89Fish Peddler and Cobbler 91From Air and Angels, Maroon Bells 93

ix

From ONE HUNDRED POEMS

FROM THE CHINESE (1956)

Tu Fu / Winter Dawn 95Tu Fu / A Restless Night In Camp 95Tu Fu / South Wind 96

From ONE HUNDRED MORE POEMS

FROM THE CHINESE (1970)

Ch’u Ch’uang I / A Mountain Spring 97Wang Wei / Autumn Twilight In the Mountains 97Liu Ch’ang Ch’ing / Snow On Lotus Mountain 98Han Yu / Amongst the Cliffs 98Li Shang Yin / When Will I Be Home? 99Wen T’ing Yen / In the Mountains as

Autumn Begins 100

From GÖDEL’S PROOF (1965)

Yin and Yang 101

From THE HEART’S GARDEN,

THE GARDEN’S HEART (1967)

A Song at the Winepresses 102

From LOVE IS AN ART OF TIME (1974)

Your Birthday in the California Mountains 105 Hapax 106

x

Kenneth rexroth’s Sierra Prose

From AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL

(1964, expanded 1991)

From Chapter 30 111From Chapter 39 115From Chapter 51 119From Chapter 52 120From Chapter 53 123From Chapter 60 124From Chapter 61 125

From CAMPING IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS

(written 1939, published online 2002)

From Chapter One, “Minimum Equipment” 126From Chapter Four, “The Camp” 130From Chapter Six, “Horses, Mules, Burros, Riding,

Packing, and Horse Furniture” 137From Chapter Nine, “The Trail” 140From Chapter Ten, “Climbing” 142From Chapter Twelve, “Winter Camping” 143

From THE WPA GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA

(1939)

From “Sequoia and General Grant National Parks” 145From “Yosemite National Park” 146

xi

From REXROTH’S NEWSPAPER COLUMNS

in the San Francisco Examiner

August 7, 1960 147August 14, 1960 148July 2, 1961 149July 12, 1961 151July 8, 1962 153July 11, 1962 155August 26, 1962 156June 30, 1963 158August 18, 1963 161August 21, 1963 163August 23, 1964 164December 2, 1964 166September 13, 1965 167January 24, 1966 168September 11, 1966 169

From REXROTH’S NEWSPAPER COLUMNS

in the San Francisco Bay Guardian

December 1969 171May 1969 172

xii

correspondence and commentary

From KENNETH REXROTH AND JAMES LAUGHLIN:

SELECTED LETTERS (1937–1981)

Laughlin to Rexroth, June 15, 1937 177Rexroth to Laughlin, October 21, 1939 177Rexroth to Laughlin, May 5, 1941 177Laughlin to Rexroth, May 16, 1945 178Rexroth to Laughlin, April 13, 1948 178Rexroth to Laughlin, June 25, 1948 178Laughlin to Rexroth, December 17, 1981 178

From THE WAY IT WASN’T, by James Laughlin

(2006) 180

From BYWAYS, by James Laughlin (2005) 182

KENNETH REXROTH, OBSERVER, by Carter

Scholz (2012) 185

noteS 195