Shrug

by Nate Pritts

In his newest collection, SHRUG, Pritts writes discursive, wry poetry that fires on all cylinders, delivering epiphany after epiphany while questioning how anything can mean anything. This is poetry solidly grounded in experience, yet full of intellectual & emotional twists & turns - leaving you thinking with your heart & feeling with your brain.

Genres: Poetry

40 pages, perfect bound chapbook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Nate Pritts is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently Post Human (2016) and Decoherence (2017). Publishers Weekly described his fifth book, Sweet Nothing (2011), as “both baroque and irreverent, banal and romantic, his poems […] arrive at a place of vulnerability and sincerity.” POETRY Magazine called his The Wonderfull Yeare (2009), “rich, vivid, intimate, & somewhat troubled” while The Rumpus called Big Bright Sun (2010) “a textual record of mistakes made and insights gleaned…[in] a voice that knows its part in self-destruction.”

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems in this book fall somewhere outside of the conceit of Nate's bigger book, Sensational Spectacular, in the sense that they don't go after that post-modern, post-concept spark. Instead, this is a collection of comparatively modest lyrics in the romantic crisis ode mode, pace whoever talks about that-- Abrams, maybe?

At any rate, there are a couple really delicate sustained investigations of identity here, which Nate does as well as anyone I can think of, some poems about nature and animals, which always surprise me with their attention and Nate's investment in a larger world, etc. Lots to really like in this relatively slim chapbook.

[Dayna Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shrug took a look at the things that most people would overlook and made them meaningful. Most of the poems were heavy in the symbolism, which made me want to dive in more to discover the hidden meaning among things. Perhaps two of my favorites were "Faith" and "Person or Persons Unknown" because they caused me to remember to not take my non-misfortunes for granted. I can't wait to read more Pritts!

[Debra Blasi]

I dig the title.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some wonderful lyric moments and lines in here, and perfect humor mixed in.

[Cody]

I won this book on First-reads