Avalanche [Paperback]

Quincy Troupe (Author), Jose Bedia (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996

A collection of poetry about men, women, jazz, and American life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Troupe heaves a cold, smacking "rush of objects" down an American mountainside of dreams and injustices. A respected chronicler of the lives of James Baldwin and Miles Davis and the son of a prominent Negro league catcher, Troupe (Snake-Back Solos) is an innovator of form and tone who shifts quickly from a lofty, elegiac mode into burlesque or smoky, jazzed-down pop phraseology. He plays on history, "riffin' on in full of rain & pain/ spacin' on in on a sound/ like coltrane." But Troupe also registers history's price, as in repeated images of an old man-both perpetrator and victim-"holding his age tight as two opaque roses/ in cataracted eyes." Troupe is still at his best when he indulges in deep, obsessive curves into music: "caaa-rack// the assonance of sound breaking from ground/ breaking away from itself & found in the bounding syllables of snow/ moving now." He writes with unchecked expression, redundant and inclusive. If it were any more laden, Avalanche would be inchoate. Any less would be our loss.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Poetry prize winner Troupe here provides a collection which blends metaphor, rhythm, and a scattering of black and white illustrations. Images are the strength here: "My poem here is reaching for that greenness/is reaching for holy luminosity shimmering in gold-/flecked light, where the mojo hand is seaming through/high blue mornings, waving like a sequined glove up in the glory". Gorgeous images. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Coffee House Press (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566890446
• ISBN-13: 978-1566890441
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avalanche of my thoughts..., April 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Avalanche (Paperback)

A few nights ago I went to a live poetry reading that featured Qunicy Troupe. To make a long review short...he was AMAZING! I had never heard of Quincy before this reading that I attended, but I'm very glad that I went!

While I was there I purchased "Avalanche: Poems." I chose this book (the others were also on sale.."Chrouses" and "Weather Reports") because a few of the poems he read that soon became my favorites are contained in this particular book. Among my favorites are: "Eye Change Dreams" and "A Poem for "Magic.'" Both contain vivid detail and lyrical, musical beats and rhythms. Your mind and also your eyes will be pleased by this collection of poetry, since Quincy's poems are accompanied by the wonderful arwork of Jose Bedia.

I could go into further detail but I'll let you read the book for yourself, without my thoughts clouding these wonderful poems!

Finally, this also adds to Quincy saying at the reading that if he told stories about the poems they might end up being better than the poems. Also, he mentioned that if you are reading his poems in New York, and he lives in California, you won't have him there to explain the stories behind them and the content of them to you!

Happy reading!

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply beautiful poetry, April 16, 2003

By 

paul ingram (Tucson, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avalanche (Paperback)

Ever since I heard Quincy Troupe read his poems I've been amazed by them; his poems are sublime instances of the power of words and ideas. For anyone who loves poetry.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great work that won't make you feel left out, May 19, 2002

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avalanche (Paperback)

Poets and poetry can oftentimes make you feel out of the loop, as if you aren't getting something. Troupe's work doesn't do that, and most notably here. This is poetry for people who don't know if they like poetry, even if he doesn't deignate it as such. The work is earthy, engaging and a legit story lies in almost every one.

Good stuff, and will impress the weird poet crowd if you're caught with it. ;-)