By any measure, Gary Snyder is one of the greatest poets in America in the last century. From his first book of poems to his latest collection of essays, his work and his example, standing between Tu Fu and Thoreau, has been influential all over the world. Riprap , his first book of poems, was published in Japan in 1959 by Origin Press, and it is the 50th anniversary of that groundbreaking book that is celebrated with this new edition. A small press reprint of that book included Snyder’s translations of Han Shan’s Cold Mountain Poems , perhaps the finest translations of that remarkable poet ever made into English.

For the 50th anniversary, this completely redesigned edition of Riprap is accompanied by a CD of Snyder reading all the poems in this collection, with introductions and asides. The recording, made in the poet’s home by Jack Loeffler, marks the first time a complete reading has ever been available in a commercial edition.

One of the finest collections of poems published in the 20th century, this edition will please those already familiar with this work and excite a new generation of readers with its profound simplicity and spare elegance.

加里•斯奈德，美国诗人，翻译家。出生于旧金山，就读伯克利大学期间，因受禅宗影响而转学亚洲语言和文化，并翻译中国古诗，参与“垮掉派”诗歌运动，曾到日本修习禅宗。一九八四年，斯奈德和金斯堡曾随美国作家代表团访问中国。他多年来一直致力于生态保护，被誉为“深层生态学的桂冠诗人”；曾获普利策诗歌奖和全美图书奖。