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About the Size of It
Tom Disch’s first collection of poems for ten years presents a dazzling variety show of inventive wit. His serious gift for humour permeates poems by turn lyric and narrative, satirical, rebellious, ribald, uncompromising and honest. Too idiosyncratic and various a poet to belong to any poetic grouping, he is simply, in the late Donald Davie’s phrase, consistently entertaining and intelligent’.
Tom Disch was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1940. He moved to New York, where he still lives, in 1957. A critically acclaimed and award-winning science fiction author (writing as Thomas M. Disch), he has published many novels, collections of short stories and of poetry, as well as children’s fiction and two works of poetry criticism. He has contributed poems regularly to Hudson Review , Light , Paris Review , Poetry (Chicago) and the Times Literary Supplement ; he writes reviews for The New York Times , The Washington Post , The Nation and others.
Tom Disch was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1940. He moved to New York, where he still lives, in 1957. A critically acclaimed and award-winning science fiction author (writing as Thomas M. Disch), he has published many novels, collections of short stories and of poetry, as well as children’s fiction and two works of poetry criticism. He has contributed poems regularly to Hudson Review , Light , Paris Review , Poetry (Chicago) and the Times Literary Supplement ; he writes reviews for The New York Times , The Washington Post , The Nation and others.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
21 people want to read
About the author
Thomas M. Disch
379 books320 followersThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction writer and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book—previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book"—in 1999. He had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, a Rhysling Award, and two Seiun Awards, among others.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 25, 2008
I plan to do a review of this and Verses Light & Dark together. I really need to find a copy of "The Cardinal Detoxes" which is Disch's tour de force.
Disch's technique is rooted in traditional prosody, but his subject matter is wide ranging in content and emotion. He is our Jonathan Swift, scathing, satirical, merciless, but just as entangled in our world as we are.
Disch's technique is rooted in traditional prosody, but his subject matter is wide ranging in content and emotion. He is our Jonathan Swift, scathing, satirical, merciless, but just as entangled in our world as we are.
Displaying 1 of 1 review