“Lerner [is] among the most promising young poets now writing.”—Publishers Weekly“Sharp, ambitious, and impressive.” ...
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Aug 22, 2010
Matt
rated it: 
Another from the "small press list," this book by Ben Lerner is pretty well in my wheelhouse, since it seems to be assembled from cut-ups of other poems, worked together and repeated into two long poems, each split into two sections so that they alternate-- so many pages of "Mean Free Path" followed by so many pages of "Doppler Elegies," and then repeat.
They are both really satisfying on a line-by-line level-- "DE" is, obviously, an elegy, and Le More...
They are both really satisfying on a line-by-line level-- "DE" is, obviously, an elegy, and Le More...
Mar 15, 2010
Rodney
rated it: 
I’m surprised at how much I like Ben Lerner’s poetry. First because it’s published by Copper Canyon, which I think of as slick and stodgy, and second because the science conceit in his work interests me not at all. But his writing, here and in his other books, strikes me as smart without toppling under theory, skillful without incessantly pointing to its own craftedness, and alive to our media-saturated political moment without making that the sole subject of the poetry.
Reading this More...
Reading this More...
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Apr 06, 2011
Mark
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Ben Lerner is a little bit more experimental than the poets I typically enjoy, which is why I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed this volume. It was one of the best collections of poetry I've read in several years.
I'd hazard that Lerner's style in this book is not for everyone. In each of the book's four long poems, he carefully structures stanzas that seem to stream in or out of one of a half dozen or so thoughts that all seem to be going on simultaneously and influencing More...
I'd hazard that Lerner's style in this book is not for everyone. In each of the book's four long poems, he carefully structures stanzas that seem to stream in or out of one of a half dozen or so thoughts that all seem to be going on simultaneously and influencing More...
Jul 15, 2010
anonymous
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This book of poems is divided into 4 parts: "Mean Free Path", "Doppler Elegies" and then "Mean Free Path" and "Doppler Elegies" following once more. In physics, the "mean free path" of a particle is the average distance it travels before colliding with another particle.
In some ways, I noticed the poetry in this book alludes to this measure in physics with lines like:
"At a canted angle of enabling failures
The lit More...
In some ways, I noticed the poetry in this book alludes to this measure in physics with lines like:
"At a canted angle of enabling failures
The lit More...
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Jul 05, 2010
Bill
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Lerner's powerful collection critiques even as it depicts our contemporary discontinuities of thought -- the way loneliness and images of war, for instance, intrude on and shape our consciousness even if we think we're thinking about something else. It communicates our failure to communicate.
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Feb 14, 2010
Jeff T.
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I reviewed it here:
http://thefanzine.com/articles/poetry/41...
http://thefanzine.com/articles/poetry/41...
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May 10, 2011
Chris
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Probably my least favorite of Lerner's books, but still one of 2010's strongest releases in poetry.
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Aug 27, 2011
Nick
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The effects of this book are cumulative. Much of the pleasure of reading it is in the experience of seeing various threads and phrases resurface at different points in the book. Lerner's style is challenging without becoming obscure.
Jan 24, 2012
Kathleen
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A wonderful exploitation of the mind's desire to finish the sentence, denied through the lineation. Lerner is, as always, provocative and stimulating.
May 25, 2010
Tiffany
rated it:
Nothing for you here but repetition
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