This Body Is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood

poetry by Bly

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July 20, 2026

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The phrase "This Body Is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood" is the title of a 1977 poetry collection by Robert Bly. Bly was an American poet, translator, and editor, known for his exploration of themes related to masculinity, nature, and myth.

Camphor is a crystalline compound derived from the wood and bark of the camphor tree, used in medicine and as an insect repellent. Camphorwood refers to the wood of the camphor tree or similar trees, including certain Australian cypress pines. The title of Bly's work evokes natural materials, suggesting a connection between the physical body and the natural world, a theme present in his poetry.12

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Robert Bly
…included Sleepers Joining Hands (1973), This Body Is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood (1977), This Tree Will Be Here for a Thousand Years (1979), Morning Poems (1997), and Eating the Honey of Words (1999). His poems of The Man in the Black Coat Turns (1981) explore themes of male grief…
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…included Sleepers Joining Hands (1973), This Body Is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood (1977), This Tree Will Be Here for a Thousand Years (1979), Morning Poems (1997), and Eating the Honey of Words (1999). His poems of The Man in the Black Coat Turns (1981) explore themes of male grief…
Read More