The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters [Paperback]

Thomas M. Disch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

A collection of essays and commentary about poetry provides reviews of a range of American and English poets, including Kenneth Koch, Jon Ashbery, and Ogden Nash, and offers insight into and criticism of the processes that inspired their work.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A poetry critic of the first rank, novelist and poet Disch takes a look at the contemporary American poetry scene in this collection of essays and reviews. He calls for "the disestablishment of poetry workshops as an academic institution," arguing that they encourage indolence, smugness and a special sense of entitlement. Disch provides astute takes on Kenneth Koch ("some of the most pulverized poetry in the English language"), Kathleen Raine's wrestling with the Neoplatonic angel of her soul and the minimalist verse-novels of Mark Jarman and David Budbill. Along with perceptive critiques of Anthony Hecht, John Ashbery, Rita Dove, Kenneth Fearing, Galway Kinnell and Marilyn Hacker, he appraises Frederick Turner's neglected science-fiction dystopian epic poem, "The New World" (1985), and ponders the cautionary tale of "beatnik guru" Charles Olson, whose "professional life was one long applications grant."
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Balding, bearded, and burly, his tattooed forearms folded defiantly across his chest, Disch stares out from the dust jacket like a bartender telling a customer he can't have any more, and his prose reads the same. There are critics who find something of value in everything they read, but Disch, the author of nearly 30 books of poetry and fiction (The Priest: A Gothic Romance, LJ 3/15/95), isn't one of these. He hates as prodigiously as he loves. "There are simply too many poets and too little time to read them all," he writes, and the critic's job, as he sees it, is to praise and damn in equal measure; otherwise, "Gresham's law is bound to kick in" and "bad poetry will drive out good." A lively writer, Disch is guaranteed to provoke, though in the end his pronouncements seem more a matter of personal temperament than of rock-hard right and wrong. For specialized collections.?David Kirby, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Picador USA (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312145594
• ISBN-13: 978-0312145590
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #659,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard, but real, October 19, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters (Hardcover)

Disch writes criticism that makes you wince even when you agree with what he's saying. It takes a special writer to do this and still be able to keep the quality of his work above water, and Disch does this admirably. The introduction alone is almost worth the price of the entire book, as he proceeds to rip every aspect of the contemporary poetry scene that deserves it. The book alsoo contains a number of reviews of contemporary poets and books and even when he likes something it don't come easy...and who could blame him? In this day and age when everyone can become a poet at whim, it's about time to start taking a hard look at what's coming out of people's journals and seeing what's what.

An incredible, tight bok of criticism that will engage you even if you don't know all of the poets he's talking about. A great example of how to citique invincibly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Disch!, November 21, 2002

By 

A. Z. Wells - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters (Paperback)

The Castle of Indolence is criticism as it should be, not only for what it does not contain (recondite jargon, fawning flattery, faint praise in lieu of damnation, meaningless ad-copy fluff, etc.) but because it is downright entertaining. A page-turner, I read it in a couple of sittings, and lost track of how many times I laughed aloud. If there were more people like Thomas Disch around, there'd be a lot more poetry worth reading--or at least a lot less drek!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, True Criticism!, April 10, 2009

By 

Daniel Sprankle "goddan" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters (Paperback)

I love poetry! Unfortunately, I read mostly old (think Edmund Spenser) poetry. I read this book because I'm interested in the author and because I'm interested in learning more about contemporary poetry.

The mark of a good critic is that he leads you away from the bad stuff and towards the good stuff. Because of this book I will definitely look at some authors I'd never heard of. I've never read any of the poems reviewed here so I'm taking it on faith that Thomas M. Disch knows what he's talking about.

The reason to place faith in Mr. Disch is his wonderful facility with words and his good humor. He writes well. He is quite entertaining. And he does not give in to praising those he does not feel merit praise.

Read this book even if you don't care about poetry. Thomas M. Disch is that good of a writer.