Why My Mother Likes Liberace: A Musical Selection

by Diane Wakoski

copy in good condition. some signs of age.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

Wakoski is an American poet who is primarily associated with the deep image poets such as Jerome Rothenberg, Robert Kelly, and Clayton Eshleman. Throughout her work she uses legends, myth and fairy tales to create a deeply personal mythology.

She is best known for a series of poems collectively known as "The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems."

Wakoski was given the William Carlos Williams Award for her "Emerald Ice: Selected Poetry 1962-1987."

Reviews

[Melissa Helton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my favorite. The collection only seemed to hit one note, and it did not evolve or change. The note: "I gave up the piano (because even though I loved it, I wasn't great) to write poetry and I haven't won the Nobel yet. And no one loves me." What I want to see is the poems where the poet explores why she feels we have to be great (and be internationally recognized as great) for us to feel/be seen as valid in the things we love. I'm not a great dancer, but damn it's fun to dance in my kitchen. Why deny myself that joy or stress that I'm not applauded for my dancing?

[Don Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1985 selection of Wakoski's poems, centered around her own relationship to playing the piano specifically and to music, in general, is a personal favorite of mine. It illustrates how autobiography at once informs the work, as often is the case in her best poems, while transcending the everyday.

Beautifully illustrated with line drawings by Rebecca Gaver, this is a collection that may be revisited time and again by a master poet at the top of her game.

Highly recommended.

- Don