Dementia Americana

by Keith Maillard

In the most personal writing he has ever undertaken, veteran novelist Keith Maillard turns to poetry to evoke the madness of America in the time of the Gulf War. Also included is a long poem in blank verse about the Harry Thaw trial, in which Maillard depicts Evelyn Nesbit, the eerily beautiful woman in the court proceedings. A superb documentation of America's dark obsession with youth, purity, style and violence. Winner of the 1995 Gerald Lampert prize for best first book of poetry.

Genres: Poetry

116 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

Reviews

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written and interesting book. The narrative poem based on the Harry Thaw trial of 1906 is written with vision. It makes the reader understand what took place and how that may have influenced those involved and society in general. The other poetry in the book is both powerful and thought provoking.