All-American Poem (APR Honickman 1st Book Award) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Tony Hoagland (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Matthew Dickman's all-American poems are the epitome of the pleasure principle; as clever as they are, they refuse to have ulterior intellectual pretensions; really, I think, they are spiritual in character-free and easy and unself-conscious, lusty, full of sensuous aspiration. . . . We turn loose such poets into our culture so that they can provoke the rest of us into saying everything on our minds."-Tony Hoagland, APR/Honickman First Book Prize judge

All American Poem plumbs the ecstatic nature of our daily lives. In these unhermetic poems, pop culture and the sacred go hand in hand. As Matthew Dickman said in an interview, he wants the "people from the community that I come from"-a blue-collar neighborhood in Portland, Oregon-to get his poems. "Also, I decided to include anything I wanted in my poems. . . . Pepsi, McDonald's, the word 'ass.'"

There is no one to save us
because there is no need to be saved.
I've hurt you. I've loved you. I've mowed
the front yard. When the stranger wearing a sheer white dress
covered in a million beads
slinks toward me like an over-sexed chandelier suddenly come to life,
I take her hand in mine. I spin her out
and bring her in. This is the almond grove
in the dark slow dance.
It is what we should be doing right now. Scraping
for joy . . .

Matthew Dickman is from Portland, Oregon, and has been honored with writing fellowships from the Michener Center, Vermont Studio Center, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.

About the Author

Matthew Dickman won the APR/Honnickman First Book Prize for his book All American Poem. His poems have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New Yorker, Tin House, and Lyric. When not attending a writer's residency, he works in a bakery, where he can "shape five baguettes in under three minutes."

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: American Poetry Review (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977639541
• ISBN-13: 978-0977639540
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,294 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Contemporary American Poetry, April 13, 2009

By	Silvia Lopez (Florida) - See all my reviews

All-American Poem is a wonderful collection of poetry all adding up to a complete portrait of America. The book is separated into three parts. The first part focuses primarily on themes of love and memories that are representative of the personal aspects of life. In the second part, Dickman's focus shifts to the broken pieces of the country. The poems in this section deal with suffering and troubled times that everyone can relate to at some level or another. The final section of his collection relates more to universal ideas such as beliefs or moments of self-discovery. The underlying theme throughout the collection is, of course, America. I would recommend this collection to anyone who is just beginning to explore the world of poetry. Matthew Dickman's poems are very straightforward and easy to understand. They also paint very vivid pictures and would be enjoyed by any fan of poetry.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unimpressive, July 28, 2009

By	Jon Tribble (Carbondale, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This attempt to pull together some divergent aesthetic postures in contemporary poetry consistently falls short for me. There is too much silliness trying to be either witty or profound. I'm not impressed by poems like "Grief"--"When grief comes to you as a purple gorilla/you must count yourself lucky."--even if THE NEW YORKER was. If you prefer preening to honesty you might enjoy this collection. Otherwise, you might check out his brother, Michael Dickman, and his first book, THE END OF THE WEST.