Danger and Beauty [Mass Market Paperback]

Jessica Hagedorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

A provocative collection of poetry and prose from the acclaimed author of Dogeaters. In the poems of Dangerous Music, Hagedorn celebrates music. Pet Food & Tropical Apparitions includes poems, stories, and a novella. The final section of the collection consists of previously unpublished prose and poetry.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From her earliest poems Hagedorn, whose first novel ( Dog eaters ) was nominated for a National Book Award, has concerned herself with music, pop culture, drugs and sex. But these themes cut across barriers--rich and poor, rock and jazz, straight and kinky, all viewed with a delightful humor. The most consistent aspect is the outsider's point of view. Her speakers are forever away from home; they never quite fit in: "in new york / they ask me if i'm puerto rican / and do i live in queens?" Hagedorn writes in an early poem, using lower-case letters as if to accent the speaker's sense of insignificance. This volume, in which the early poems and stories are reprinted from limited editions, offers readers fuller insights into the Filipino writer's vibrancy. But a handful of new pieces written during the past decade are some of her strongest work. "Formalized / by middle age / we avoid crowds / but still / love music," she begins a poem that goes on to juxtapose the speaker's infant daughter's "pink and luscious flesh" with friends in El Salvador whose relatives are disappearing. The fun-loving persona of 20 years ago has developed a mature, distinctive vision.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Filipino American writer and performance artist Hagedorn, who was nominated for the National Book Award for her first novel, Dogeaters ( LJ 4/1/90), here offers early poems (1968-72); poetry and a short story from her first published work, Dangerous Music (Momos, 1975); poetry and prose originally published in 1981 as Pet Food & Tropical Apparitions; and new, previously unpublished material written between 1982 and 1992, including several "performance texts." Hagedorn's major theme is the disillusionment of the immigrant, who is seduced by a superficial and violent American society. Laden with allusions to 1960s popular culture, Hagedorn's early work evokes that era, but her themes of isolation, exile, the drug-ridden violence of city life, and the emptiness of the American dream remain relevant. Her newer work is less penetrable, and the performance texts (such as "Vulva Operetta") do not resonate in written form as they may when presented orally. Although only about 35 pages are new, the other material is no longer in print. Recommended for contemporary literature collections. --Ellen Finnie Duranceau, MIT Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140173404
• ISBN-13: 978-0140173406
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,025,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and impressive anthology of vivid poetry, July 12, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Danger and Beauty (Paperback)

Writer, performance artist, poet and playwright Jessica Hagedorn's Danger And Beauty is a unique and impressive anthology of vivid poetry, interspersed with the occasional brief prose scene, about everything from pet food and peep shows to the "dangerous music" of 1975. Monologues touching on mature subjects, the undeniable impact a Catholic upbringing has on one's life, and unfettered emotion distinguish Danger And Beauty as poetry that mingles with the forbidden. Sorcery: there are some people I know/whose beauty/is a crime./who make you so crazy/you don't know/whether to throw yourself/as them/or ... them./which makes/for a permanent madness./which could be/bad for you./you better be on the lookout/for such circumstances...