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56th out of 100 books
—
41 voters
Come on All You Ghosts
Matthew Zapruder's third book mixes humor and invention with love and loss, as when the breath of a lover is compared to "a field of titanium gravestones / growing warmer in the sun." The title poem is an elegy for the heroes and mentors in the poet's life—from David Foster Wallace to the poet's father. Zapruder's poems are direct and surprising, and throughout the book he...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
August 31st 2010
by Copper Canyon Press
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I wasn't able to get through this collection on my first or second attempts. And though, ultimately I believe that Zapruder's IS a bit uneven, I locate the origin of my early difficulties with the book within my own poetic predilections (the geography of which are constantly expanding to include more and more styles and habits), and honestly, to a sense of professional competition and envy. Let me be clear: I don't KNOW Matthew Zapruder; but I picked up his book on the strong recommendation of a...more
We read this for the bookstore poetry group. Going into the discussion, I was lukewarm on the book. There were some brilliant poems, but many seem to meander without much purpose. Once we began the discussion, it seemed there were beautiful nuggets in almost every piece. I'm not sure how I can read a book three times through and miss so much. After the meeting, one of the guys in the group asked, "what happens during a reading? Does anyone get anything?" I can tell you that if I don't have the t...more
I'm so torn about this collection. Zapruder reads like a hip John Ashbery with heart, but the same things that often frustrate me about Ashbery frustrate me about Zapruder -- a near fetishistic need to jarringly juxtapose high and low diction, switch registers and voices seemingly on a whim, and a deliberate attempt to obfuscate, sacrificing heart and clarity for a more formal representation of what it means to be alive in post-modern America. Whereas Ashbery uses erudite allusions to French lit...more
from Come on All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder:
Global Warming
In old black and white documentaries
sometimes you can see
the young at a concert or demonstration
staring in a certain way as if
a giant golden banjo
is somewhere sparkling
just too far off to hear.
They really didn't know there was a camera.
Cross legged on the lawn
they are patiently listening to speeches
or the folk singer hunched
over his little brown guitar.
They look as tired as the young today.
The calm manner in which their eyes
just like...more
Global Warming
In old black and white documentaries
sometimes you can see
the young at a concert or demonstration
staring in a certain way as if
a giant golden banjo
is somewhere sparkling
just too far off to hear.
They really didn't know there was a camera.
Cross legged on the lawn
they are patiently listening to speeches
or the folk singer hunched
over his little brown guitar.
They look as tired as the young today.
The calm manner in which their eyes
just like...more
Jan 11, 2012
Brent
marked it as to-read
Last year I chose 15 books from the New York Times 100 notable books of 2010 list. So far I've read 5 of them with reactions ranging from absolute hatred to tepid amusement. I can resist trying it again though, so this is my list of 15 books from the NYT notable books of 2011 list that I picked to add to my reading list:
Angel Esmeralda -- Don Delillo
Leftovers -- Tom Perrotta
Buddha In The Attic -- Julie Otsuka
The Last Werewolf -- Glen Duncan
Mr. Fox -- Helen Oyeyemi
Come On All You Ghosts -- Matthe...more
Angel Esmeralda -- Don Delillo
Leftovers -- Tom Perrotta
Buddha In The Attic -- Julie Otsuka
The Last Werewolf -- Glen Duncan
Mr. Fox -- Helen Oyeyemi
Come On All You Ghosts -- Matthe...more
I read and really liked _Pajamist_, and I think I'm sort of aware of Zapruder's place in contemporary poetry. But I thought this volume was kind of dull-- the language to me was very discusrive, very flat and prosey in a way that made the book not very interesting to read. It felt like a lot of old ideas, brought across without much enthusiasm.
I do think the final long poem, as much as it wasn't thematically all that interesting, was the best thing here. Which is a real change from the long, "Pa...more
I do think the final long poem, as much as it wasn't thematically all that interesting, was the best thing here. Which is a real change from the long, "Pa...more
Reading this book was like borrowing the brain of someone who thinks in the exact opposite way that I do (not in the ideological sense; think of each neural pathway simply running in reverse), yet who is therefore an almost perfect counterpart to me. Zapruder is the coolest, most unassuming teacher in his poetry, always stretching your mind out (in an almost literal way, the way his frequent enjambments and lack of punctuation demand a substantial and meaningful hold on your attention), making y...more
Come On All You Ghosts
(96 pages/Copper Canyon Press 2010)
Matthew Zapruder's third collection of poetry, Come On All You Ghosts, fully engages humor, whimsy, and inventiveness in a game of chicken with the existential absurdity of trying to capture or fathom human emotion. These poems are like little viral infections of hope and expansiveness, doing work on the psyche akin to being taken out for mystical cocktails, shaken up inside a snow globe, and then left beside a backwoods road with only a d...more
(96 pages/Copper Canyon Press 2010)
Matthew Zapruder's third collection of poetry, Come On All You Ghosts, fully engages humor, whimsy, and inventiveness in a game of chicken with the existential absurdity of trying to capture or fathom human emotion. These poems are like little viral infections of hope and expansiveness, doing work on the psyche akin to being taken out for mystical cocktails, shaken up inside a snow globe, and then left beside a backwoods road with only a d...more
Still rereading and still loving this collection. It's discursive (some would say disjointed) and prosy and at times breaks my friend's rule that poetry should only do those things which only poetry can do, but I can forgive nearly anything when he does this:
Clearly life is a drag, by which I mean a net that keeps
pulling the most unsavory and useful boots we
either put on lamenting, or eat with the hooks of some
big idea gripping the sides of our mouths and yanking them
upwards in a conceptual gri...more
Clearly life is a drag, by which I mean a net that keeps
pulling the most unsavory and useful boots we
either put on lamenting, or eat with the hooks of some
big idea gripping the sides of our mouths and yanking them
upwards in a conceptual gri...more
Loved this, most of this. Some of the poems are a little too random but others make complete sense in their randomness.
"Come On All You Ghosts," the last poem in the volume (and the title poem) is great, a must-read, a little bit of a tribute to the current reader of the poem.
Zapruder also writes about less serious things, like White Castle.
Here is a little clip from "Never Before"
"...Come home
those who love a librarian aspect. I am one,
for give her time and she will answer any question
no matt...more
"Come On All You Ghosts," the last poem in the volume (and the title poem) is great, a must-read, a little bit of a tribute to the current reader of the poem.
Zapruder also writes about less serious things, like White Castle.
Here is a little clip from "Never Before"
"...Come home
those who love a librarian aspect. I am one,
for give her time and she will answer any question
no matt...more
At moments, this book reminded me what I love about poetry. Zapruder writes in an easy, prose-like style, but his words are deceptively complex. He is a master of the line break and sparely uses punctuation with the effect of compounding the meanings of his words, allowing them to not collapse to a single meaning, but revel in the multiplicity of meanings. Highlights: "Together Yet Also Apart," "Pockets," and the titular "Come On All You Ghosts."
I try to read a poem or two a day, and I do so by rotating through a pile of five books of poetry next to my bed. For better or worse, I can't help but judge a book based on how I'm enjoying the others in my pile. I just like my other books more right now. Other than the title poem, which I would give 4 stars at least, I couldn't find much to which I might return. That poem's pretty amazing. Meta, moving, and memorable.
I really liked this book, but I also kept thinking that 1.) I preferred THE PAJAMAIST, mostly because it has my favorite Matthew Zapruder poem in it ("Twenty Poems for Noelle"), 2.) I preferred THE CLOUD CORPORATION, which I read at the same time, and 3.) I feel like there's a somewhat predictable Matthew Zapruder poem, and I keep wanting this poet to do something radically different. But these might be unfair complaints.
Zapruder uses a flowing, circling, just-dancing-away style to contribute to poetry's primary aim: connect the biggest ideas with the tiniest of moments. This poet's odd corridors sometimes stray a bit past the accessible, but then stunners like "Dobby's Sweatshirt" or "Automated Regret Machine" show that he can also stay focused. In "Work" he paints wonderful city images and "Global Warming" is one of a kind because he addresses the feeling of the title phrase without ever tacitly exploring the...more
I love these poems. They're simultaneously joyful and heartbreaking and uplifting. I brought this book with me to jury duty so I could read a few poems at a time during lengthy sidebars and whatnot. I never want to hear the word "sidebar" again, but this beautiful little book kept me sane so that I didn't throttle the lead defense attorney when he insulted my intelligence.
Zapruder is super talented and a huge influence on me, but sometimes he has trouble with conclusions, I think. It's something I noticed in this collection that I never had a real problem with in his earlier books. Is this him, or is it me? Anyway, don't mind me. This is still a really great collection, funny and morose and luminous.
Loved this. Definitely need to read it again to fully digest. Loved "Pocket" and the title poem. Part 1 seems to take a sort of disingenuous, almost childlike approach to things, though not to the detriment of the poems. This is dropped later. Zapruder walks the line wonderfully between sentimentality and deep, universal subjects. Recommended fully.
!!!
Oh, man. I needed these poems. I'm actually in the process of reading this right now, but I've been feeling so stationary in my writing. Basically, stationary in my living as well. Zapruder is gently shoving all this sadness and truth in my face. I want to tell him thank you.
Oh, man. I needed these poems. I'm actually in the process of reading this right now, but I've been feeling so stationary in my writing. Basically, stationary in my living as well. Zapruder is gently shoving all this sadness and truth in my face. I want to tell him thank you.
Imaginative poetry with a childlike sense of humor and wonder. Upon finishing the collection, I felt he offers not much more, no idea to interpret experience, no verse I would memorize; hence only three stars. Enjoyable and funny though.
Terrible cover for a good book of poetry. Zapruder really made me think. One line in particular I liked...
"I have never been sad for appropriate reasons."
There are many thoughts and insights that can be read into that one line.
"I have never been sad for appropriate reasons."
There are many thoughts and insights that can be read into that one line.
when it is good it is amazing and can make me laugh and/or cry on the subway. when it is not so good it is still real and connected and more vital than 90% of the poetry shelf these days.
This collection of poetry by Zapruder seems a little too wordy in places, but still offers the poetry reader insight into original thinking and writing.
The titular poem alone is worth the price of the book. Absolutely perfect long poem which left me ecstatic.
The book dragged in places, and I felt as though he was repeating himself too often.
i like zapruder's conversational style. i like how he tricked me for a minute.
Good gracious, this is beautiful. Matthew Zapruder is particularly good at capturing a dream-like, floating essence in his poems without visibly pinning it down. There's a lot of color in his poems, and the work exists very much in a time that is now with its references to Xerox, the Higgs boson, diet Coke, and others. I found it interesting that there were a number of poems where Zapruder refers to books he's been reading, it seemed like a running bit.
Favorite poems:
April Snow
Never Before
Work
St...more
Favorite poems:
April Snow
Never Before
Work
St...more
The best parts scattered throughout make it completely worth it.
diet coke DOES taste "like nothing plus the idea of chocolate."
These poems have flashes of brilliance and very memorable snippets of imagery, but I don't love the artist's non sequitur style. I would recommend his poems in small doses.
Let's take over a small island and stick a flag in it. Make half of the pages of this book our national anthem and the other half our bible for when it storms.
I could quote you all of it for examples of its brilliance, its ease, its familiarity.
It was lovely to meet you, new old friend. I'll see you again very very soon.
I could quote you all of it for examples of its brilliance, its ease, its familiarity.
It was lovely to meet you, new old friend. I'll see you again very very soon.
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Apr 09, 2012 02:17pm