American Noise: A Rapturous Journey Through Contemporary Society―Poems of Culture, Landscape, and Revelation

by Campbell McGrath

American Noise is a rapturous exploration of American culture and landscape. With compassionate wit and insight, Campbell McGrath transports us on a journey through contemporary society, transforming the commonplace into scenes of profound revelation. From late-night bars to early-morning diners, suburban malls to the Mojave Desert, McGrath's meticulously detailed vision defines singular moments of joy and melancholy.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Campbell McGrath (born 1962) is a modern American poet. He is the author of nine full-length collections of poetry, including his most recent, Seven Notebooks (Ecco Press, 2008), Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Ecco Press, 2009), and In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press, forthcoming, 2012).
Contents

1 Life
2 Music
3 Awards
4 Works
5 Bibliography
6 References
7 External links

Life

McGrath was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Washington, D.C., where he attended Sidwell Friends School; among his classmates was the poet Elizabeth Alexander. He received his B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1984 and his MFA from Columbia University's creative writing program in 1988, where he was classmates with Rick Moody. He currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and teaches creative writing at Florida International University, where his students have included Richard Blanco, Susan Briante, Jay Snodgrass and Emma Trelles. He is married to Elizabeth Lichtenstein, whom he met while he was an undergraduate; they have two sons.[1]
Music

In the early 1980s, while a student at the University of Chicago, he was a member of the punk band Men From The Manly Planet.[2]
Awards

McGrath has been recognized by some of the most prestigious American poetry awards, including the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award (for "The Bob Hope Poem" in Spring Comes to Chicago, his third book of poems), a Pushcart Prize, the Academy of American Poets Prize, a Ploughshares Cohen Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, and a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award." In 2011 he was named a Fellow of United States Artists.[3]
Works

While primarily known as a poet, McGrath has also written a play, "The Autobiography of Edvard Munch" (produced by Concrete Gothic Theater, Chicago, 1983); a libretto for Orlando Garcia's experimental video opera "Transcending Time" (premiered at the New Music Biennalle, Zagreb, Croatia, 2009); collaborated with the video artist John Stuart on the video/poetry piece "14 Views of Miami" (premiered at The Wolfsonian, Miami, 2008); and translated the Aristophanes play The Wasps for the Penn Greek Drama Series.
Bibliography

Dust (chapbook, Ohio Review Press, 1988)
Capitalism (Wesleyan University Press, 1990)
American Noise (Ecco Press, 1993)
Spring Comes to Chicago (Ecco Press, 1996)
Road Atlas (Ecco Press, 1999)
Mangrovia (chapbook, Short Line Editions, 2001)
Florida Poems (Ecco Press, 2002)
Pax Atomica (Ecco Press, 2004)
Heart of Anthracite: New & Collected Prose Poems (Stride Press, UK)
Seven Notebooks (Ecco Press, 2008)
Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Ecco Press, 2009)
The Custodian & Other Poems (chapbook, Floating Wolf Quarterly, 2011)
In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press, 2012)

References

Reviews

[i.]

Couldn't get through it. Terribly dense (and not in the good way), dripping with masculinity, and painfully limited in scope. The one star is for his imagery, which, though tired and clichèd, is vivid, at least.

[Sharon]

McGrath has a distinctive style and voice - modern, urban but not urbane, and yes, decidedly American. Most of the poems in this book take the form of long lines with no stanza breaks, which creates a great sense of urgency and immediacy. They tend to be list-like, a long spitting out of observations and statements about places as diverse as the Mohave Desert, Brewster County, Texas, Times Square, and Utah, among others. This is the American road trip in poetic form.

Unfortunately, for me, the sameness of style quickly became tiresome and I found myself flipping through the book looking for any poem with shorter lines, stanzas, or some other variance to get a respite from that insistent, unchanging rhythm. The title felt all too apt as some of the poems did indeed begin to feel like 'noise' to me - a blur of images and descriptions, words on top of words on top of words. While that works for the duration of a few poems, it becomes overwhelming and contrived when read again and again through an entire book.

American Noise is the kind of book I will take off the shelf when I want to read a single poem and get fired up or creatively inspired. The best poems in this collection are fresh and exciting. The worst feel contrived, as if they are merely going through the motions.

[Nedduh Simonson]

Zen Arcade and/or Dbl Nickles On The Dime side 5

[Gerry LaFemina]

McGrath's vision and scope is broad, and his capacity to shift tones mid stride is uncanny. Still, these poems occasionally trip at times, the voice a bit too prosey when they need to sing more, but these instances are rare, and for the most part, American Noise captures the concert that is this country.

[Steven]

Well written incantations dream of Mojave deserts, western bars, hotels, motels, American dream (sorta), remembrances, advertisements to manipulate the masses, and various others. Until you get to the nonexistent wild horses in Caineville, Utah. Something to think about these days. Recommended.

[Julianna]

3.5 ⭐️ — Americana from a guy in the 90s who grew up idolizing Kerouac

[Jeffrey Bumiller]

This is yet another one of those books that has been just sitting on my shelf forever. I would often wander by it and think to myself, I wonder where that came from? Well, American Noise finally got called up to the majors and just at the right moment. I have found another poet to add to my list of favorites. I feel strangely star struck by Campbell Mcgrath. After reading this book, I couldn't help but want to meet and hang out with him. I mean how could I not love a poet who references Walt Whitman and Husker Du in the same line, how could I not be intrigued by and feel connected to a poet who dedicates poems to Gram Parsons? I cannot wait to track down the rest of Campbell Mcgrath's books.

I love this book. I love how, for some reason that I can't put my finger on, I could instantly tell that it was published in 1993. I love how my copy of this book has an inscription in pencil that says, "To Corey, 94' - I love you" I love how, according to his biography Campbell Mcgrath was in a punk band in the 1980's called Men for the Manly Planet, and I love how after an internet search I could find almost no information about them.

"Blue Tulips and Night Train for Jack Kerouac's Grave" is so stunningly beautiful, and sad and thoughtful. It is easily amongst the greatest poems I've ever read. An example:

"Sad Jack. Dead in Florida of all unlikely places,
a tract home near the lush, suburbanized interior
where Uncle Walt's weird swampy vision had newly arisen
to fuel the frenzy of strip-mall construction
like a cinder-block hurricane breaking loose.
So the magic kingdom claims another victim."

Meaningful, real, and surreal. The words dance.

Whitman, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Campbell Mcgrath, I am dancing with you.

SO glad this book finally jumped off the shelf at me.

[Alex Nichols]

To anyone reading McGrath: Two Figures with Heat Lightning in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and Angels & the Bars of Manhattan

two of the most amazing poems I've read in a very long time

you should check em out

like now

[Yi-Sheng]

A few amazing poems in here, rhythmic and shimmering, reflecting McGrath's status as a latter-day beat. However, a few felt mechanical, leaving me cold.

[Tiffany]

currently re-reading. like it a lot, still more to learn, I think.

[Zach]

About on par with "Spring Comes..." but slightly less interesting.

[R.G. Evans]

Whitmanesque in scope. McGrath demonstrates his range of poetic styles here, but he's at his best when working with long lines and catalogs, riffing on mid-90s America.

[Leonard]

Interesting collection of wordy, or word-rich (I haven't decide for sure which) kinetic, road-poems.

[Biscuits]

So much in this American pot, and this fella attempts to list it all. Sprawling Whitman-like energy. It came out in '93 but now as surely then these are important American poems.

[Scott]

Still in my personal Top 10. One of the books that convinced me to keep writing poetry.

[Brett Ortler]

Hi, my name is Campbell McGrath and I'm just plain goddamn good.

[GRReviewer]

My favorite collection of poetry. It feels as complex as America.