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Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys: Poems
by
D.A. Powell (Goodreads Author)
New poetry by D. A. Powell, “the best poet of his generation—and arguably the most important poet under fifty” (Time Out New York)
I have this rearrangement to make:
symbolic death, my backward glance.
The way the past is a kind of future
leaning against the sporty hood.
—from “Bugcatching at Twilight” In D. A. Powell’s fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has m
symbolic death, my backward glance.
The way the past is a kind of future
leaning against the sporty hood.
—from “Bugcatching at Twilight” In D. A. Powell’s fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has m
Hardcover, 108 pages
Published
February 14th 2012
by Graywolf Press
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I first heard about D.A. Powell when he was announced as the judge for the New Southern Voices Poetry Prize sponsored by the Hub City Writers Project. I have to admit to being unfamiliar with him previously, although he has been an award winner and nominee a few times over.
I am giving this three stars, which is my typical rating for solid enough writing that also happens to not really be my thing. My eyes glaze over when poets want to be overly descriptive. I found his shorter poems to be far mo...more
I am giving this three stars, which is my typical rating for solid enough writing that also happens to not really be my thing. My eyes glaze over when poets want to be overly descriptive. I found his shorter poems to be far mo...more
There is no doubt that D.A. Powell is a gifted poet. His verses are lyrical and beautiful and he creates vivid depictions of California landscapes in the early poems of this collection. At first I found myself in love with this collection until further in it because looser and more juvenile. Fantastic imagery was replaced by crude depictions of casual same-sex debauchery.
While it is undeniable that Powell has a way with words and can make any situation musical and witty, I personally didn't fin...more
While it is undeniable that Powell has a way with words and can make any situation musical and witty, I personally didn't fin...more
Poems of leaning and loafing and lusting, in the Whitmanic American grain, and ultimately of "of," the longing of belonging--to the troops of "lovely and tragic boys" in Powell's life, to the unmapped margins of his Californian geography of imagination, and to the memory of the "illness of [his] age." Mixed with their bittersweet returns to the useless landscapes of boonies, bathhouses, and bars, these new poems have a tangy aftertaste (or foretaste?) of leave-taking, youth coupled with age. The...more
The Who
Who are you? The defining characteristics of each person are often both varied and unusual. As humans we can all claim similar traits. We love; we laugh; we live; we die. Externally, we even define ourselves through the region in which we live. I am a Seattleite; I am Cascadian. My region defines me. I don’t mind rain but my smile beams widest when the bluest skies emerge during summer in the Emerald City.
I mention Seattle to illustrate the foundational ideas which kept circling in my min...more
Who are you? The defining characteristics of each person are often both varied and unusual. As humans we can all claim similar traits. We love; we laugh; we live; we die. Externally, we even define ourselves through the region in which we live. I am a Seattleite; I am Cascadian. My region defines me. I don’t mind rain but my smile beams widest when the bluest skies emerge during summer in the Emerald City.
I mention Seattle to illustrate the foundational ideas which kept circling in my min...more
I'm currently a host of a radio show called The Weekly Reader, which interviews authors of new work every week. I was lucky enough to get D. A. Powell on the phone to discuss this book. I had never read his work before, but I got a big kick out of the humor in Useless Landscapes, as well as the more subtle poems--you know, the ones about landscape. Anyway, he's a really cool and incredibly smart guy. I won't be hosting this radio show much longer, but I'll be looking for his next collection when...more
The book delivers poetry that is open and honest, which I like. There are times throughout each poem where Powell tries to let the imagery lead the poem, but it often fell flat with me. The poems that came from within and the personal experiences works much better as they don't seem to be laden with images that try to be crisp and beautiful. These more personals poems had a weight to them and a strong sense of character that I felt like the author was standing on a stage pouring out his emotions...more
My first book of poetry in a looonnnggg time. To evaluate my own reading: I understood maybe more than a little. And I enjoyed the words. But I expected something less sentimental. And while I could reasonably expect darkness, what I found was often small, and sad of course.
The books starts out with some interesting poems about the landscape of California, which I enjoyed, but then it turns into poem after poem about troubled gay sex encounters. Those poems tend to employ wordplay of the type I would expect from a snickering schoolboy. I imagine Mr. Powell laughing to himself at the inclusion of every double entendre, but I just found it more and more childish.
Wow. Reading a review I was attracted to the book. I didn't understand that D. A. Powell is homosexual. I didn't make the connection from the subtitle or from the Boy Scout motif of the cover art. Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys is homosexually tuned. More, much of it is homosexual love poetry. Most of it is lovely. All of it is eloquent as well as powerful. This may be the best new poetry I've read this year. Powell's volatile images ring with such emphatic precision that they rise out o...more
This volume was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2012. Powell writes a
rather dark meditation on gay sexuality and loneliness. Many poems deal with
Landscapes of.... He uses a lot of very naturalistic detail and the reader is
introduced to a variety of natural areas.
rather dark meditation on gay sexuality and loneliness. Many poems deal with
Landscapes of.... He uses a lot of very naturalistic detail and the reader is
introduced to a variety of natural areas.
What a gorgeous collection of language and song. These poems explore all sorts of landscapes, pulling the reader into place with the density of the music and the detailed descriptions. "Tender Mercies" is one of the very best poems I've read this year.
The more personal poems about love and sex engaged me more than the ones about landscapes and flowers and shizz. His meditations on aging were darned fine. Why do we need to fall apart physically when we get it together mentally? It is unfair.
Favorite Poems: "The Fluffer Talks of Eternity," "Landscape with Sections of Aqueduct," "College City Market, College City, CA" and most of the others in the first section of the book.
Though Powell's departure from his own form requires a bit of adjustment on the part of the Powell devotee, I genuinely loved the majority of poems in this book. I kept rereading them and I wanted to share them with others. I grew up in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, and Powell manages to capture that landscape—both its fertile beauty and its seedy underbelly—for me.
I am a Powell fan, but somehow I never love an entire book at a time. He's incapable of writing poorly though, so I will always seek out his new work.
Will need to go back and re-read the whole thing at least twice. Densely packed poems. It's really 3 and half stars (at the moment) but there's no button for that.
I'll probably regret or change this rating later, but fuck. As a collection, Useless Landscape is uneven. Some poems are so so, but there are a good number of poems here (maybe ten, give or take a couple) that make me wish I have the range and the audacity to write something similar.
DA Powell keeps getting better. Useless Landscape is absolutely amazing.
"Triumph over death with me. And we will divide the air."
Mostly unsurprising poems about anonymous gay sex.
Not my favorite of his. Depends a little too much on the double entendre, which had me giggling when I saw him read, but maybe I'm just in a bit of a funk (and no, not in Funkytown). Some transcendently brilliant poems in here though, especially the two title poems!
This is one book that I will probably not finish, and sell to a used book store. A later reading has me changing my mind, but maybe others were put off by some of the first few poems.
It is rare that I find a collection of poetry which I love in its entirety. The best I can usually hope for is three or four individual poems--and a few more lines or stanzas--that move me. These I copy into a word document for further reflection and examination. I think my favorite poem from this particular collection is "Tarnished Angel," although there were a number of single lines which struck me still.
There is a graceful languor to many of these poems which makes them a tremendous pleasure to read. Powell's characteristic wordplay and wit are in full flower, and he solidifies a growing pastoral strain from Chronic, his last volume, which has added a gorgeous new dimension to his already quite rounded repertoire.
Received this through First Reads and it was delightful. The writing was vivid and nostalgic. Good stuff that would be very appealing to the LGBT community but others as well.
Maybe a book I'll revisit later in life but I simply couldn't understand a good portion of the poems. It is abstract and geared towards the more intellectual sort. The ones I could comprehend I did like though, and hopefully just reading more poetry will eventually help me understand more. :)
D.A. Powell's writing is beautiful. Can't wait to pick up his other work.
May 22, 2013
Mark
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Christina Marie Rau
is currently reading it
May 21, 2013
John
marked it as to-read
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D. A. Powell is the author of Tea, Lunch, Cocktails, and Chronic. His latest collection, Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys, received the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry in 2013.
A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Powell lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Follow D. A. Powell on Twitter: Powell_DA
More about D.A. Powell...
A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Powell lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Follow D. A. Powell on Twitter: Powell_DA
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Feb 04, 2013 12:49pm