Reviews (1)

Great Modern Poetry
David Bergman's "Heroic Measures" contains beautiful poems about the nature of life and living, that are universal between straight and gay audiences alike. It is poetry without pretension, that accepts itselfeasily and flows when read aloud. It does not try to outdo itself withmeaningless metaphor and aggravating allusion, and instead honestly tellsstories. This collection has such a varied repertoire of topics, too, fromthe much-praised AIDS poetry, to the nature of travel and family, with someespecially meaningful poetry about fathers. With their unexpected rhyme,range of subjects, and sheer honesty, I found these poems to be some of themost enjoyable modern poetry I've read in a great while. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay men    3. Poetry   

Subjects:  1. (Alfred Edward),    2. 1859-1936    3. 20th century    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. England    6. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    7. General    8. History    9. Homosexuality and literature    10. Housman, A. E    11. Housman, A. E.    12. Poetry    13. English    14. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -   

Subjects:  1. 1788-1824    2. 19th century    3. Baron,    4. Byron, George Gordon Byron,    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. Difference (Psychology) in literature    7. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    8. Great Britain    9. History    10. Homosexuality and literature    11. Homosexuality, Male, in literature    12. Literary Criticism    13. Poetry   

Reviews (1)

Baring his soul...
The book was very insightful to the depths of the writer's feelings of love, being gay and in love, and relationships in general. He bared his soul in a raw way of self-healing with no fear of condemnation or ridicule. You could feel his need to let the reader know he now understands who he is and the journey he endured to become that person. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. FIC011000   

Reviews (5)

A Stunningly Crafted Collection! A Must Read!
Like the parade of faces on a stone frieze, this wordsmith carves out each poem with careful attention to detail and language. But the poet does not limit his literary space to his Greek ancestry, there are many culturesconnecting here like that of the French surrealists, the Italian poeticforms and a list of American icons that contribute to a complex chorus ofsuperb images. Challenging to read and pleasing to the ear.

For both heart and mind
I have looked forward to a poetry book by Dean Kostos since I first read his poems in a poetry workshop.This is a book that opens up and feeds both the heart and mind.I am joyful that these poems exist.

I'm amazed at his originality and surreal yet lucid images.
I'm rarely excited by most unknown poets, but am amazed at Dean Kostos' originality and extraordinary voice, and his wealth of surreal yet lucidly accurate images. And not least his sure- footed storytelling. He seems tohave an inexhaustible imagination used with a formalist technique andrightness of tone and observation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Contemporary Poetry    2. American    3. Gay Studies    4. Social Science   

Reviews (7)

Sweet, wonderful, smart, warm, exciting poems.
What a charming, wise, heartwarming, insightful book of poems. This writer's attention to craft, his gifted voice, will inspire all readers. An important and powerful, warm and beautiful book.

Forget Harry Potter?experience Reichard's wizardry instead
The range of these poems is astounding, and they gain power with rereading. The poems mourning the loss of the author's family members to illness as well as the loss of friends to AIDS are a moving and artisticrevival of the elegiac form. And yet there is humor, as well, attention tonature. Few poetry books stretch all the way from exploration of language ala Language School formats, (with a deliberate nod to Frank O'Hara, NewYork School poet prototype) to the unjustly maligned "emotionrecollected in tranquility," but this books does, and does it right.An exemplar for contemporary writers and students of poetics.

Intense, passionate, articulate, lyrical verse and imagery.
William Reichard is a master ofintense, passionate, articulate, lyrical language cased in lyrical verse and imagery. An Alchemy In The Bones is a superb anthology introducing a major talent to an appreciative audience. Without Translation: With sewn lips he speaks/in a dazzling code that Icannot translate./But the body has other mouths from which to speak,/andthese, I do comprehend:/How the blade of the should has a tongue,/andspeaks./How the abdomen, sweetly heaving, has a tongue,/and speaks./I wishI had a key, the proper code to unlock/the door to his desire,/a dictionaryto decipher the distance/which my mind cannot span,/but my dry heart, mylips, my clumsy instinct,/can. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay    3. General    4. Poetry    5. Poetry / General   

Reviews (1)

Essential Norse
Although many of the poems are reprinted from "Carnivorous Saint" this is still an essential overview of Norse's poetry. He's an under-rated member of the Beat movement. Much explicit sexual content, gay. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay men    2. Love poetry, American    3. Norse, Harold - Poems & Criticism    4. Poetry   

Subjects:  1. African American Poetry    2. African American men    3. American - General    4. American Contemporary Poetry    5. Gay    6. Gay men    7. Poetry    8. Poetry anthologies: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (3)

A literature that transcends the usual for the unique
Wind of Knives is very unique experience. In a culture where "difficult" is a negative criticism, and where plot lines that dont lead to immediate gratification or entertainment are seen as "too dense," this book bucks expectation and rewards the reader with a variety of points of view and subjects. Staszek sets the bar quite high, processing childhood pain and shame with his hungry heart and soul, and he succeeds. Part of the book is a response--and fascinating at that--to Salinger's Franny and Zooey, and its a very unique form of literary criticism. Part personal essay, part confession, part history lesson, part poem, this book may take more effort than a John Grisham pulp thriller or a Jackie Collins bodice-ripper, but the reward is all the greater. I am reminded of James Baldwin, who also requires--no, demands and deserves--great effort and attention because he's going for my heart full throttle. And like Baldwin's work, this book touched me.

A BOOK LIKE NO OTHER
What unique writing!You know how thoughts whirl through your head when you read a book?Author STASZEK has captured that sensation in WIND OF KNIVES, a work that fades in and out of focus through marvelous literary technique as thoughts spurred by reading a J.D. Salinger novel expand into autobiography, philosophy, and poetry and back to the book again.The book swirls as thought does, as dreams do, as memory must.Don't be put off by reviews that say it's about the childhood of a homosexual.It's about that and much, much more. It's about the making of a mystic, and certainly the making of a fine American author.

Interesting failure
Imagine encountering the line: "Gifted with integrating intelligence, Arrian synthesized experience as he took it in - he framed the new in the known, reframed the known in the new" in a book centering around anIndiana preacher's son accepting his sexual orientation - homosexual. Place the line in the context of half a book structured as a response toFranny and Zooey by Salinger - response either by the 15 year old ... orthe 40 year old he became.Add to this some sloppy thought - confusing theofferings of Cain and Abel.You are now envisioning the better part ofWind of Knives.Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction / Gay    3. Fiction / Visionary & Metaphysical    4. Gay    5. Gay men    6. Literary collections    7. Poetry    8. Poetry / Single Author / American    9. Visionary & Metaphysical   

Reviews (4)

sunk under the weight of its own pretentions
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It's all artsy and rebellious, possibly like Rimbaud himself. But oh, it is pretentious! It's like Reed took a straight-up Rimbaud biography, a lot of half-baked hippie rants, some political and social arguements which would have probably left the real Rimbaud scratching his head, and stuffed it all in a blender. (Set on puree, dry to a paste, spread it on paper. Voila, this book.) This is more the author's screaming than anything relevant to Rimbaud. If you want an artistic representation of Rimbaud's life, watch "Total Eclipse". If you want a Rimbaud biography, pick any other; they're all better than "Delirium".

rimbaud himself would have loved this book
"delirium" is nothing less than a work of creative genius, and i personally would be reluctant to criticize it for being 'self indulgent' when reading it is the linguistic equivalent of dropping acid or shooting up. it is that intense. after you finish it you immediately want another book by reed, or at least i certainly did. the source of poetry is free subjectivity and imagination, and there are parts in this book that are truly transcendent poetically. reed is interested in rimbaud when he was the 'god of adolescence', the period in his life of total rebellion and artistic frenzy. he does a near flawless job of showing that while verlaine and his somewhat cruel and hateful companion may have had a physical and shallow emotional bond, rimbaud was far above him on the spiritual and intellectual plane. this is a necessity for any admirer of rimbaud and surrealism.

An Unintentional Breakthrough
Although this study of Rimbaud is, admittedly, a trifle self indulgent, it is, nevertheless, a poem in itself. Maybe not in the sense that the author had intended, but in terms of its unadulerated representation of the chaosthat is the source of all poetry, it is a promethean breakthrough. I highlyreccomend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1854-1891    2. Drug addicts    3. Fiction    4. French Poetry    5. Gay men    6. General    7. Poetry    8. Poets    9. Rimbaud, Arthur,    10. Literary Collections / Essays    11. Rimbaud, Arthur   

Reviews (3)

a different kind of poet
A good sign that a poet is talented: Richard Wilbur writes the introduction to your first collection. Tim Murphy is different from the Formalist poets. Murphy has masted the short line--the dimeter or trimeter. Murphy's poems are metrically sound, without being sing-song. More often than not his rhymes are original and flow with the poem. And though the short line is often used for light verse, Murphy shows that it can be powerful when used seriously. Murphy's poems are the poems of the farmer (a highly educated and well-read farmer) and are easily accessible. The few poems that are of longer line length are also well done, showing that Murphy can write in pentameter as well. I didn't like the final section as much, titled "Early Poems" which I'm guessing he wrote in his youth. The poems are classical in nature and subject, their line lengths are longer, and though they are good, I think can see them as the poems he wrote while trying to find his voice. And I'm glad he did, because it is a strong voice. These poems are a joy to read, and I look forward to reading his new book. (My favorite poems: "The Peg-leg Pig", "Jasper Lake", "Lonesome Peak", "The Quarrel" and "A Dog Young and Old")

Brevity is the soul of wit?and so much more
"Brevity is the soul of wit," said Polonius. In the poems of Timothy Murphy it is that and so much more-mockery, tenderness, dread, humor, despair, charm, bitter wisdom, and serious whimsy. The compression of Murphy's art-short poems with short lines propelled by meter and rhyme-leaves no space for false moves or stylistic awkwardness. Each poem is pure muscle and breath molded to its task and exulting in its motion. And despite the short format, Murphy by turns unleashes and restrains an aural playfulness that delights in whole mouthfuls of sound. His engagement with life equals his engagement with language. The Deed of Gift, his first full-length book of poems, published at age 47 after a life grounded in the stark realities of farming in North Dakota, is divided into four parts: I. Farming All Night, about that way of life and the view of nature it compels; II. Je Me Souviens, with its poems each steeped in a sense of place ranging from the Arctic to Martinique; III. The Gift of Hera, in large part a meditation on the art of writing: IV. Father of the Man, an exploration of family and home; V. Early Poems, revealing that Murphy started as a witty and energetic classicist, educated to the hilt and wise in the ways of books. The theme of homosexuality that appears here in a flashy 3rd person voice reappears sparingly in the later poems in his own deeper, unforgettable 1st person. Every poem in this book is perfectly achieved. Marvel at the art of it.

Short and moving poems
Timothy Murphy is one of my favorite living poets.He writes short, clear, accessible lyrics in meter and rhyme, most of them about the trials of farm life and prairie living.(But you don't have to be a farmer toappreciate them -- I live in New York City.)They are full of intensityand pathos.He has that magical ability to paint a vivid picture with justa few words.I would liken his writing to Emily Dickinson, but it doesn'thave Dickinson's idiosyncracies.In my opinion, he is one of the bestpoets writing today.Please e-mail me a for a link where some of Murphy'spoems can be viewed, and then come back and buy this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Contemporary Poetry    3. Farm life    4. Gay men    5. Poetry    6. Poetry / General   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. AIDS (Disease)    3. American    4. American poetry    5. Gays' writings, American    6. Patients    7. Poetry    8. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Subjects:  1. Erotic poetry, American    2. Gay men    3. Gay men's writings, American    4. Male authors    5. Poetry    6. Women In Literature    7. Non-Classifiable   

Subjects:  1. African American Poetry    2. African American gays    3. African American men    4. American - General    5. American Contemporary Poetry    6. Gay men    7. Poetry    8. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Subjects:  1. American    2. American - General    3. American Contemporary Poetry    4. Canadian    5. Gay    6. Men In Literature    7. Poetry    8. Poetry / Canadian   

Reviews (2)

A rich, rewarding story
There are few novels that capture the breadth of New York City in the late 70s quite like this one - from the anarchic artists and squatters in Sohoto the blue-collar neighborhoods of the Bronx. And I can think of fewnovels that are able to encompass and express the inner lives of such adiverse group of people. There's an exquisite ability at work here thatmanages to give voice to the unspoken dynamics of family life. As I readthis book I felt like these were people I knew, people I grew up with.Andfor all the reality of the people, there's a poetry to the writing thatmanaged to lift these daily, desperate lives to the heroic - and thetragicomic. Narrated by three different voices, three characters in thenovel, (four if you count entries in a stolen journal that's essential tothe plot) the reader has a fully three dimensional view of all thecharacters. But this view progresses in stages, so that it has all themystery and beauty of a deepening relationship. Sometimes you learn thingsyou don't like, but you're hooked. These people pull you into their storyof love sought and confused sexuality, of social climbing and maritalinfidelity.This is a rich reading experience I would recommend to anyonewho looks both depth of feeling and a good story.

Moving and rewarding
Summer's House is a wonderful novel that engages the reader from the first mysterious page.The three leading characters are all intriguing and complex people that you care about and understand. The language is poeticand evocative, with many monents that stop you in your tracks to let therichness and vividness sink in.There are several mysteries that unfoldthroughout the book and the clues are woven into a plot that pulls youalong.The intensity of the character's plights at times becomes almostpalpable through the writer's style and pacing.All through the novelthere is a thread of sexuality which is tenderly and convincinglyportrayed-whether it is a young man's stumbling forays into the world ofadult sex or the sad attempt of an older man to find love and redemption inan affair.If you like multli-generational family stories (with a Jewishbackdrop) movingly told, with beautiful prose, you'll love Summer's House. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. General    5. New York (N.Y.)    6. Poets    7. Popular American Fiction    8. Teenage boys    9. Uncles    10. Fiction / Gay   

Subjects:  1. FOR009000    2. BIO007000   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. American poetry    4. France    5. Gay Studies    6. General    7. History    8. History and criticism    9. Homosexuality and literature    10. Literary Criticism    11. Literature - Classics / Criticism    12. Poetry    13. Research    14. United States    15. Literary Criticism / Poetry    16. Literary studies: general    17. Men's studies   

Subjects:  1. Gay men    2. Poetry   

Subjects:  1. 1572-1631    2. 17th century    3. Criticism and interpretation    4. Donne, John,    5. Donne, John, 1572-1631    6. England    7. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    8. Epistolary poetry, English    9. Erotic poetry, English    10. History    11. History and criticism    12. Homosexuality and literature    13. Poetry    14. Donne, John    15. English    16. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    17. Views on sexual orientation