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I Will Destroy You: Poems
by
The newest collection from Nick Flynn, whose “songs of experience hum with immediacy” (The New York Times)
Beginning with a poem called “Confessional” and ending with a poem titled “Saint Augustine,” Nick Flynn's I Will Destroy You interrogates the potential of art to be redemptive, to remake and reform. But first the maker of art must claim responsibility for his past, his ...more
Beginning with a poem called “Confessional” and ending with a poem titled “Saint Augustine,” Nick Flynn's I Will Destroy You interrogates the potential of art to be redemptive, to remake and reform. But first the maker of art must claim responsibility for his past, his ...more
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full of ruefulness, remorse, ruin, regret, rawness, and reflection, the forty-four poems that make up nick flynn's latest collection, i will destroy you, find the poet/memoirist expounding ever further upon themes he's explored in previous works, perhaps most notably in another bullshit night in suck city (later adapted into the film, being flynn). the suicide of his mother, as it does elsewhere in his writing, looms large in his dark, but stirring new collection. flynn is a father now and throu
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Here's
the deal—if you die
then I will be able to
drink again & no
one alive will even
blame me—this,
child, is the dark wind in-
side, but not
the darkest ...
—From "Poem to Be Whispered by the Bedside of a Sleeping Child"
Yes, this is dark, but, in I Will Destroy You, possibly not the darkest. But I Will Destroy You is the darkest Nick Flynn has been, and that's saying something. Undeniably effective and affecting, but I hope the next one is a little bit lighter, for the sake of both the reader and the ...more
the deal—if you die
then I will be able to
drink again & no
one alive will even
blame me—this,
child, is the dark wind in-
side, but not
the darkest ...
—From "Poem to Be Whispered by the Bedside of a Sleeping Child"
Yes, this is dark, but, in I Will Destroy You, possibly not the darkest. But I Will Destroy You is the darkest Nick Flynn has been, and that's saying something. Undeniably effective and affecting, but I hope the next one is a little bit lighter, for the sake of both the reader and the ...more
I Will Destroy You is the modernized retelling of Icarus—except that, after the speaker’s fall, its protagonist is resurrected. In the opening poem, “Confessional,” he lays himself bare to the reader—“admits” to his faults, preparing the reader for something dark and heavy. “Now, it [this poem] wears its shame like a halo,” read its final lines. “Please, take it, rip it up, put it in your glass. / We can watch it dissolve.” Throughout the book, through some sort of sleight of hand I can’t quite
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Very badly wanted to like this collection of poems from Flynn more than I actually do. But there's only a small bunch of poems in there that I actually like. But those that I like, I like quite a lot. Considered giving it a 4-star rating, but somehow I just can't make myself do it.
These are poems that I think are rather lovely :
POEM TO BE WHISPERED BY THE BEDSIDE OF A SLEEPING CHILD
HORSE THIEF
WHAT YOU CAN’T HEAR
NOW ...more
These are poems that I think are rather lovely :
POEM TO BE WHISPERED BY THE BEDSIDE OF A SLEEPING CHILD
HORSE THIEF
WHAT YOU CAN’T HEAR
NOW ...more
4.5 Stars
After reading the fourth poem in this book, Poem to be whispered by the bedside of a sleeping child I closed the book for a moment and audibly said, "damn." I Will Destroy You will feel familiar to fans of Flynn's previous works. But, this one comes with a warning, with lessons to be learned. Compelling, clever, and accessible. ...more
After reading the fourth poem in this book, Poem to be whispered by the bedside of a sleeping child I closed the book for a moment and audibly said, "damn." I Will Destroy You will feel familiar to fans of Flynn's previous works. But, this one comes with a warning, with lessons to be learned. Compelling, clever, and accessible. ...more
NOW
Tomorrow, or
the day after, I'll press my
mouth to your scar & run
my tongue along it
so I can taste how you were once
opened, so I can know where
you never closed. ...more
Tomorrow, or
the day after, I'll press my
mouth to your scar & run
my tongue along it
so I can taste how you were once
opened, so I can know where
you never closed. ...more
Yes, Nick Flynn, you will. You did. You will always. America's greatest living poet.
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I have a love/hate relationship with Nick Flynn, but this collection held one of my favorite poems of his
Picked this up from a Goodreads rec after reading through all of the work of Jeffrey McDaniel, and I would say they are comparable. He has an edgy wit backed up by compelling life stories. Plus he's married to Lili Taylor and she's a pretty cool cat. Looking forward to reading more.
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Maybe closer to 4 stars but when I began reading it the one-two punch of "Balcony" followed by "Poem to be Whispered by the Bedside of a Sleeping Child" took my breath away with such force that I said that it was an automatic 5 star rating for me. I had to stop and reread each of them several times, share them with friends... These two poems are Flynn at his most forceful - freaking brilliant.
That is not to discount the rest of the book. I personally feel that the first section is the strongest ...more
That is not to discount the rest of the book. I personally feel that the first section is the strongest ...more
3.5
My version of coping with absurdly horrifying news includes reading poetry. This collection was pretty terrific.
Nov 08, 2019
Chris
added it
Is it refreshing to read a poem with references, not to ancient gods, heroines, or myths, but, instead, to pop musicians and the horror and sci-fi films of 30 years ago?
Flynn’s work reminds me of the fragility of our existence. We are always a breath away from being undone, by our trauma or someone else’s. Flynn reminds us of that precarity, at turns, abruptly, rationally, with grace, and always with a little mystery.
There are probably as many gods and myths as there are rock stars and films...
Flynn’s work reminds me of the fragility of our existence. We are always a breath away from being undone, by our trauma or someone else’s. Flynn reminds us of that precarity, at turns, abruptly, rationally, with grace, and always with a little mystery.
There are probably as many gods and myths as there are rock stars and films...
I don't know the best way to read poetry. There are poems and better yet, single lines in this work that are so beautiful and moving and stick with me still. The entire collection, read in one sitting, was too much. Too private, too personal, too much like well-crafted therapy, which leads me to conclude that I am not taking this in in the right amounts.
The writing is beautiful and interesting and visceral. ...more
The writing is beautiful and interesting and visceral. ...more
Equal parts Augustine, parts pop culture detritus, Nick Flynn writes with anger about developing into middle age: love, alcoholism, his mother's suicide, the loss of a childhood home, and his daughter all permeate the book. Yet the anger doesn't feel middle-aged exactly, Flynn also likes to remix and rebuild: gods and monsters, classical references, and sci-fi films and punk rock ethos. Flynn wants art to be redemptive even if it emerging from a mock of pain and darkness.
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Rebuilding, remolding, reflection. Flynn's collections (and memoirs) are always heavy and this one is no different. These poems will gut you, drag you down the street, and throw you on your knees, where you will form the most wondrous prayer, a mantra that was within you all along.
A favorite here is "Pied Piper": https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20... ...more
A favorite here is "Pied Piper": https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20... ...more
I stayed with many of these -- "Killdeer" for instance-- because they held so much inside them. Curled up and tender. And "Amanuensis" (love the idea of it) and then "Parrot" (oh my god the title) -- and loved that it wasn't until the notes that I learned of the rules and games Nick was playing to make these.
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I was kind of surprised to see this collection so highly rated, but to each their own. I struggled to appreciate this collection, which seems steeped in a kind of aimless rage. Many of the poems were dull and felt underbaked. In particular, the attitudes extended toward women were off-putting, narrow, and felt confined to the speaker's personal immaturity and egotism. It just wasn't for me.
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Nick Flynn's poems have a muscular style full of anger, love, sorrow and regret. There is a raw intensity of a life informed by addiction and the full knowledge of death, beauty and the fragility of life.
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"...Others live//inside those windows// that line the shore, held inside/ by lightbulbs. Out here// we are the light, out here the salt/ holds us." Beautiful and painful work from Nick Flynn, as always.
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"Art"
The artist creates second-hand reality,
i.e., creation is wholly dependent on observation,
art lacks every verity, it is a bastardized construct.
#poem
Chris Roberts, God Endlessly ...more
The artist creates second-hand reality,
i.e., creation is wholly dependent on observation,
art lacks every verity, it is a bastardized construct.
#poem
Chris Roberts, God Endlessly ...more
This was the second poetry book I've read by this author, and I couldn't put this one down either.
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Another fine collection by one of the best poets writing in our time.
Not great...
Voices echoe the words of cultural resonance and the past of nostalgic voices at the expectation of a better future, which is still to become perceptible.
Probably his sharpest collection yet. I love Nick Flynn’s work but his memoirs have always connected with me more than his poems. This one left me pretty much speechless.
I liked this collection of poems by Nick Flynn -- I'm not sure anything will ever top Some Ether, his first book of poetry. This collection talks about love and fidelity, alcoholism, his mother's death, the burning down of his childhood home and his daughter.
from Balcony: "The one promise I / can make is that I'm staying / even though what knocks on our / door at night has at its heart only / my getting lost, even though / some part of it wants me dead,"
from Sleeping Beauty: "Even the fire retu ...more
from Balcony: "The one promise I / can make is that I'm staying / even though what knocks on our / door at night has at its heart only / my getting lost, even though / some part of it wants me dead,"
from Sleeping Beauty: "Even the fire retu ...more
Some of these poems did destroy me! I love this book and his writing is visceral, insightful and penetrating.
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Nick Flynn is an American poet, memoirist, and playwright.
His most famous book is a memoir, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. He has published two collections of poetry: Blind Huber, and Some Ether, which won the inaugural PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Further honors include a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2001 Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Sc ...more
His most famous book is a memoir, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. He has published two collections of poetry: Blind Huber, and Some Ether, which won the inaugural PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Further honors include a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2001 Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Sc ...more
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