What Narcissism Means to Me : Poems

Rating:
Summary: What does narcissism mean for you?
Review: The first thing I noticed about Tony Hoagland's poetry is his fearless approach to the blunt truth. With censorship still a touchy literary topic, questions stir in my mind from leading lines like "Black for me is a country / more foreign than China of Vagina" directly proceeding two poems with extremely angry overtones, "Hate Hotel" and "Fire". He is a poet truly in touch with and in an understanding of his feelings, with the skills to create his raw, uncensored emotions in our own experiences.

Some of my favorite poems are "Phone Call", in which Hoagland's speaker realizes the sadness of his father's life and the impact that the speaker's harsh words have on the now-frail man's spirit; "Appetite", in which the speaker's thoughts trail away from the restraint table and through a series of visually surreal images that reflect that ominous presence that is death-in-wait; and "America", in which Hoagland confronts his own questions about American capitalism while still being true enough to admit his own weaknesses against it - "And yet it seems to be your own hand / Which turns the volume higher?"

This honesty and fearlessness is empowering and refreshing. Hoagland uses shared experiences and actualities to encourage his reader to question their everyday actions and beliefs. Questions of homosexuality, capitalism, political correctness, and racism appear throughout this collection and force me, as a reader, to take Hoagland's hand and dwell within my own confusion and uncertainties.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite
Review: This is my favorite book of poems...and my favorite poet. He uses a conversational poesy that's comforting but also riveting. His characeters are fully fleshed in poems that take up a mere page. These poems are edgy, funny, and pretty much brilliant. Hoagland never ceases to stun his reader with his metaphors which leap from the page in wit and complexity. Hoagland is the new big thing. Definitely.

Rating:
Summary: Dancing after the Donkey Speaks
Review: Tony Hoagland's new book, What Narcissism Means to Me from Graywolf Press, is almost perfect. From the conversational beginnings, where he shares a beer on a summer porch, to the last poem (reprinted on the back page of the American Poetry Review Nov-Dec issue) every poem sings sweet truth.

The thoughts here aren't everyday- but he makes them sound as if they are. He doesn't hold himself up by some MFA bootstrap, lording his poetic density over your head like an anvil, he points out direction as if saying "Look- did you see that? Amazing, isn't it!" He limns carefully crafted images while never letting you see how hard he must have worked to make things seem so simple.

highly recommended- *****

Rating:
Summary: Honest, blunt poetry from a captivating author
Review: While taking a poetry class from Mark Jarman, I had the chance to hear Tony Hoagland read selections from this, his newest book, as well as selections from Donkey Gospel, along with some unpublished works. If at all possible, hear this man read his poetry--it is incomparable and surprisingly refreshing. I usually don't like poetry readings, but after hearing some of these poems, I ended up buying two of his books, and they haven't ceased to amaze me yet. This poetry is not afraid of mentioning such common things as a "kissy-face," and at the same time, not afraid to confront the emotions tied to being a human being.