The narrative poems in Dorianne Laux's fifth collection charge through the summer of love, where Vietnam casts a long shadow, and into the present ...
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Nov 08, 2011
Dorianne
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At the emergency room, I read The Book of Men, then hand it to my wife, who is wired to a couple of machines. She says, Oh my, these are wonderful, and I agree and think, yes, these are poems for the people of planet Earth, for those who wait tables in Juneau, Alaska in order to buy a bed, who go off to war in place of those who send them, for whom gold is the “color of mold in the broken refrigerator” rather than a smart investment, and for whom language crafted to speak truly and memorably o
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Dec 01, 2011
Shawn
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Laux is all-her-own grounded and open. There is no one better to write about hot, sweaty nights with men than Dorianne Laux.
Laux's book mainly communes with our insecurities about death. Our fear of the unknown is to startle awake under a deep swath of night after the steam of lovemaking has dissipated and the liquid remnants dimly shine in its bed. Like the cover - I noticed the tighty-whitey underwear after carrying the book around for a couple months - each poem's sound build More...
Laux's book mainly communes with our insecurities about death. Our fear of the unknown is to startle awake under a deep swath of night after the steam of lovemaking has dissipated and the liquid remnants dimly shine in its bed. Like the cover - I noticed the tighty-whitey underwear after carrying the book around for a couple months - each poem's sound build More...
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Aug 30, 2011
Sally Maria
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I have been reluctant to write a review on Laux's collection of poems because I wanted to address the whole collection. But there is one that embedded itself. One that I call people to hear. One that I use as an example to people who "hate" poetry. One that I (as a writer) will forever use as a standard. It is titled Mother's Day.
Laux doesn't write poems that are obscure, poems that intimidate readers. She communicates at the highest levels. The reader not only " More...
Laux doesn't write poems that are obscure, poems that intimidate readers. She communicates at the highest levels. The reader not only " More...
Dec 02, 2010
Zinta
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Mushrooms and stamens and pollinating bees, all bursting from a man’s briefs … this new collection of poetry by Dorianne Laux, The Book of Men, coming out in February 2011, is as seductive and enticing a literary treat as one has come to expect from one of America’s most delicious poets. If a treatise on boys and men, men on their own, men in the poet’s life, men observed at a distance, men in the moon, then it is also very much a collection for women and by one.
Enter Sergeant Metz, More...
Enter Sergeant Metz, More...
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Sep 21, 2011
Katie
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I wrote one poem and started two others while I read this book over the course of a couple of hours. The compliment to Dorianne Laux inherent to that is this: She made me pay attention. She made me remember that every single thing has earned a poem, if someone wants to write it one. The poems in this collection are narrative in nature, and are not so much glittery as they are dusty, which I also mean as a compliment. Laux writes lived-in poems, about the past, the summer, cars, sex, the horses a
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May 08, 2011
Patricia
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Laux is one of my favorite poets. The narrative poems in this collection read like a reminisence of my young adulthood as she considers topics like Viet Nam, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan. But it's her treatment of the more mundane that truly rocks my poetic heart, poems like "The Treatment of Backs" and "Antilementation." The latter actually helped explained why I'm finishing a poorly written biography of Bill Clinton. "Regret nothing," writes Laux, "Not the crue
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Feb 13, 2012
Clay
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I believe I have found a new favorite contemporary poet in Dorianne Laux. I am sure that as I continue to adventure through poetry, I will find other "favorite poets," but Dorianne penetrated my psyche in a way that few poets do. I feel like a lot of poets feel like they have to make their poems inaccessibly to have literary validity, yet Dorianne proves this sentiment utterly false. I would argue that her poems are accessible to nearly everyone and they remain gritty, meaty, very A
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Jun 23, 2011
Jane
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Dorianne Laux arrived on the poetry radar already spectacularly good, and one of the great pleasures of reading her books over the years has been seeing how she has kept her core strengths (work whose keel is powerful emotional truth, whose sails' canvas is woven of precise description, amazing metaphors, the just-right heat of word-choice) and gone on to expand them as well, into increasingly ranging subjects and explorations. Each successive book brings its own new flavors; every one of them h
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Oct 03, 2011
Leonard
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Dorianne Laux and Billy Collins are the two poets whose poetry is the most accessible of any poet writing in this country today, and Laux may be the better of the two. Every time I read a new collection of her poems I want to go back and re- read everything she wrote before, because it is that good. Although it's a cliche I'm tempted to say that if you only read one contemporary poet, Dorianne Laux is the one to read.
Jun 12, 2011
Nina
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The Book of Men is a delightful collection of funny, whimsical, insightful, honest poems. Laux pays homage to many cultural icons, including Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, and Cher. "The Beatles" starts with Laux saying she "Never really understood why The Beatles/ broke up". She talks about Superman smoking pot as he sits on a tall building. In "Learning to Drive", Laux takes an ordinary right-of-passage and turns it into something magical. The reality of seeing an aging
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Jan 02, 2012
SmarterLilac
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There are some genuinely moving pieces in here; I love that Ms. Laux's poems express themselves with as much candor and grace as they always have. I especially like 'Learning to Drive,' which is probably my favorite poem in this book. Its focus is so intense, despite its simple frame, and, as usual, I find Laux's ability to capture the essence of human connection her greatest skill.
Aug 24, 2011
James
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The first half of The Book of Men is exactly that, a series of poems about men of all kinds, from the itinerant to the wealthy, bohemian to the iconic suburbanite. Some are well-known, like Mick Jagger and Superman. Others, like the poet Philip Levine, aren't so famous. Some are general portraits, like the film noir detective.
More subtly, the 2d half seems to be about women, especially mothers. Mothers, breasts, children recur here. There's even a poen entitled "Mother's Da More...
More subtly, the 2d half seems to be about women, especially mothers. Mothers, breasts, children recur here. There's even a poen entitled "Mother's Da More...
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Jun 14, 2011
John
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Dorianne Laux reveals a potent viewpoint on men in this new collection of poems. She has this remarkable ability to reveal an entire world through one moment, an entire personal history through one encounter or one detail. Her language is bare, stripped of grand literary illusions and metaphors. These poems are incredibly accessible as well and often read as miniature short stories.
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Sep 26, 2011
Collin
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From a modern soldier off to war and a boyfriend who taught her how to drive to Mick Jagger and Superman, Laux's fantastic collection reveals men as human and mortal. The poems are playful, sultry, sexy and also elegiac. This is a collection to be read in one sitting, although you'll stop to catch your breath on numerous occasions at Laux's plain-spoken lyricism and finely tuned attention to detail.
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Sep 18, 2011
Michelle
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Dorianne Laux's latest collection packs punch after punch of imagery that leaves you breathless. Her poems inspire and make you think about the world in a new way. I love this collection!
May 30, 2011
Cassie
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This book has more pink underlines than flesh.
She knows I love her, and that I'm at a creepy, pre-teen, boyband level with her writing. So, what more can I say than she's magic.
She knows I love her, and that I'm at a creepy, pre-teen, boyband level with her writing. So, what more can I say than she's magic.
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Mar 08, 2011
Cindy
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Another wonderful collection. Her poems always fill a hole in me that I wasn't aware was even there. I highly recommend this book!!!!
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Jul 08, 2011
Jeannine
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This is my favorite book of Dorianne's in some time, maybe since her first book. The poem "Superman" by itself is worth the cost of admission. Dorianne Laux paints in broader strokes in this book, taking an inventory of important male figures in her life (love interests, pop culture icons, etc) and engaging in some playful critique of the cultural beliefs about men and women. The writing is more confident here and she works with a wider range of tones and voices than in her last book.
Jun 04, 2011
Toni
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Liked it a lot, not quite as well as her last book. Loved much of the subject matter here (the sixties, Mick Jagger, etc.). That's my era. Will come back to say more. . . .
Jan 31, 2012
Heather
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I'm a fan of the emotion that Laux captures in her writing. She writes with clarity and precision, yet is able to capture the emotions of nostalgia, melancholy, loss, regret, lust, love, rememberance. There's a little something for everyone in this book. The Title doesn't do the book justice. My favorites are Mother's Day, Middle Name, Foster Child.
My very favorite is Late-Night TV. That entire poem is perfection.
My very favorite is Late-Night TV. That entire poem is perfection.
Apr 11, 2011
Audrey
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I am no poetry expert, but "Antilamentation" (heard one morning on NPR Writer's Almanac) struck a chord, and I had to read more, so I bought the book in which it resides. Dorianne is very earthy and makes excellent use of metaphor. Really liked.
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Jun 04, 2011
Susan
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I love Dorianne's work, but this book is not her best. I liked it, but it felt a little too tidy. It doesn't have the heart that her other books have. I'm sorry to have to say this because she's a real favorite of mine. This doesn't mean that I think you shouldn't read the book. There's some wonderful stuff here. For me, it's my least favorite of all her work, and I have all of it!
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Jan 07, 2012
Philip
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I love Dorianne Laux, and her latest collection is no exception. Here's a link to my review for the Poetry Readers Challenge group here at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7638...
Feb 20, 2012
Feb 19, 2012
