United Artists: Poems

James Dickey Contemporary Poetry

by S.X. Rosenstock

A bold, new poet to be noted, identified, and saluted with a certain hilarity, S. X. Rosenstock advises her readers to "abandon all anxiety of allusion catching" and "let the poems work their cooing, buzzing, garrulous way into your innocent ears." Compared by Richard Howard to Florine Stettheimer in terms of her pallette and her impasto, Rosenstock delights in the preposterous, the unavailing, and the not-to-be-cloned as she moves among the monuments and the ruins of society in verses that beguile the ear, leap-frog grammatical barriers, and prod Wharton and Plath into patterns subservient to her whim. All the while this talented poet challenges patriarchal codes and reveals authentic sources of pleasure.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection helped me "grok" modern poetry – as theatre, grand imagery and social commentary. The author plays with references from film, literature, painting, television and on top of all that -- Victorian sexual practices!

The cultural references -- too numerous to mention -- include film director John Woo, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Goya, Aubrey Beardsley, Lana Turner's breasts, the women of Jekyll & Hyde, Orpheus, spelunking, and Zorro.

It's a startling and original collection and every time I open it, I come away inspired. I would say it's a must for anyone who wants to look at poetry through fresh eyes.

[Mii · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read!