The Ancient Book of Hip [Paperback]

D W Lichtenberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1889292214 | ISBN-13: 978-1889292212 | Publication Date: November 17, 2009 | Edition: First Edition

This debut collection is a case study, a documentation, a journaling. It's a bunch of poems about girls, sex, cigarettes, PBR, and everything else that is the world of hip. It is the winner of the Michael Rubin Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

Review

There is a real zest in these poems.... Lichtenberg's joy in the everyday reminds me of the daily pleasures as Frank O'Hara embraced them. -John Skoyles, author of The Situation and poetry editor of Ploughshares --John Skoyles

Whether riding the subway or 'talking sh*t about a pretty sunset,' his is a highly entertaining new voice that will win you over with its combination of disarming simplicity and incisive wit. -Elaine Equi, author of Ripple Effect --Elaine Equi

The Ancient Book of Hip is a heart to hip heart converter... [Lichtenberg] possesses a unique charm that attracts people who might otherwise not have much in common. --The Examiner

About the Author

D.W. Lichtenberg is 24 years old and living in San Francisco. He is the author of THE ANCIENT BOOK OF HIP, an exploration into the phenomenon of hip. He is a writer, a filmmaker, a caffeine addict, an obsessive cleaner. DWL grew up on the Main Line of Philadelphia and attended New York University. He hopes one day to meet J.D. Salinger.

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: Fourteen Hills Press; First Edition edition (November 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889292214
• ISBN-13: 978-1889292212
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

D.W. Lichtenberg is 24 years old & living in San Francisco. He is the author of THE ANCIENT BOOK OF HIP, an exploration of the phenomenon of hip, released November 2009. He is a writer, a filmmaker, a caffeine addict, an obsessive cleaner.

His filmography can be found on IMDB. He attended NYU where he obtained a BFA in Film. His credits include associate editor on feature film FIFTH FORM & camera operator on feature documentary FOOL IN A BUBBLE.

His writings include THE ANCIENT BOOK OF HIP, winner of the 2009 Michael Rubin Book Award, and SUMMER SHOWERS, a novel without a home. He attends SFSU where he is working towards an MFA in Creative Writing.

DWL grew up on the Main Line outside of Philadelphia. He also lived in New York City, where he wrote the bulk of his work. He once went five days without eating anything. He hopes one day to meet J.D. Salinger.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars On My Fixie With The Chopped Horns Turned In, April 24, 2010

By 

Wes Leslie (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ancient Book of Hip (Paperback)

In D.W. Lichtenberg's debut collection, "The Ancient Book of Hip," Lichtenberg's PBR-toting persona reveals insights into the urban hipster mentality while still remaining a part of the culture he attempts to examine. As it's impossible to comment clearly on a situation you're not entirely removed from, the line between statements on others and self-reflection is blurred here.

In "This Heat Box," Lichtenberg looks at sex in the New York City summer and the romantic notions it conjures up. Then, in one quick motion, he turns the concept from the general to the candidly specific with the line "She was romantic. Before you really got to know her (23)."

As the collection continues, you have to wonder if you can really believe this increasingly unreliable narrator at all, with his inability to separate self-realizations from universal truths. Sure, he offers one take on the common hipster, but perhaps that's all it is. Not The history, as the book's (ostensibly tongue-in-cheek) title proclaims, but An ancient book of hip.

Still, there are plenty of relatable moments here, buried beneath layers of generational and regional specificity, that promise to make this book relevant long after the age of ironic sweaters has ended. In "Two Things," G says to B, "I thought maybe it,d all blow over andwe,d share a twix or a reese,s or something else that comes in twos." A hundred years from now, there's a chance nobody will know what a Reese's is. And there's a chance this book might be the true Ancient Book of Hip by then.