The Milk of Inquiry

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing in its sheer self-absorption
Review: A couple of months back (before this book came out) I had to sit through a musical composition with a libretto taken from two of the poems here. This was required of me for a college course, and otherwise I probably would never have heard of Mr. Koestenbaum. I'm not glad I did. It was the most redolent, self-absorbed, insipid postmodern claptrap conceivable, the work of a disturbed, soulless man whose vanity is much too vast to leave room for anything like art or poetry. Perhaps the rest of the book is better, but reading the headings I am led to skepticism.

Rating:
Summary: More myopic narcissism in verse
Review: If Koestenbaum had a stronger sense of compassion or interest in the world around him, he might be a decent poet. Unfortunately, as is, he is too self-absorbed to admire.

Rating:
Summary: An Irresistible Narcissism
Review: If Koestenbaum is a Narcissist, as so many reviewers have claimed, he's the smartest and sharpest one to come along for a long while. This book gains its strength from what the other reviewers are criticizing it for: its honesty and its self-examination. But while this introspective, melancholy boy marches out across classic confessional territory, the cadence of that march and the intricacy of the imagery should make the old school blush. I thoroughly enjoyed this wild ride, and I was moved, imagining myself as that "I," the "self" without the "pity."

Rating:
Summary: Proof of how far we have fallen culturally
Review: If nothing else, this book of would-be verse is a testament to the very sad state of poetry, and of our debased collective sensibilities. It's fundamentally more a tribute to current hype and politics than to any real art or thought.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Koestenbaum is a smart man with a nice facility with words, and a good ear for ringing phrases. But he seems to be spinning around in circles: there's little in this book (or in his last work) that seems very different from his first collection, "Ode to Anna Moffo." Koestenbaum has often strenuously defended his obsessions with celebrity culture and with his own personality as specific political strategies (!), but no matter how he may defend himself the narcissistic posturing and gushing over superstars gets on your nerves nonetheless. It's like being trapped in a conversation with someone oblivious to the fact you keep checking your watch as he prattles onward. "Masquerades" seems like everything else he's ever written, despite the publisher's claims on the book jacket for that poem-sequence being his masterpiece. He may be a more interesting poet someday (he certainly has the talent to be one), but in the meantime I'd suggest you skip this book and buy the work of someone more substantial like Mark Doty.

Rating:
Summary: Oh God, please no...
Review: More so-called poetry from Koestenbaum? Lord in heaven, please spare us....

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Review: This is an excellent collection. Wayne Koestenbaum's poetic persona is perfect--intelligent, mysterious, self-assured, sophisticated and full of a delightful humor. The first section of shorter lyrics is especially successful--please read "Three Disappearances," "Splinters," and "The Complete History of My Crotch." I strongly recommend The Milk of Inquiry. A great collection, full of originality and life.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book -- one of the best in a long time
Review: This is contemporary poetry at its best, using language gracefully, searching for completely new ways to write, digging into the marrow of the human psyche in order to tell us something about ourselves that has never been expressed before. I'm a big admirer of Koestenbaum's and this is his best book to date, more challenging that the formal perfection of Anna Moffo, and diving even further into the experimental depths than Rhapsodies. Highly recommended if you're a lover of American poetry -- this guy is the real thing.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book -- one of the best in a long time
Review: This is contemporary poetry at its best, using language gracefully, searching for completely new ways to write, digging into the marrow of the human psyche in order to tell us something about ourselves that has never been expressed before. I'm a big admirer of Koestenbaum's and this is his best book to date, more challenging that the formal perfection of Anna Moffo, and diving even further into the experimental depths than Rhapsodies. Highly recommended if you're a lover of American poetry -- this guy is the real thing.