Dearest Creature (Poets, Penguin) [Mass Market Paperback]

Amy Gerstler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Poets, Penguin | Publication Date: September 29, 2009

A surreal new collection from an acclaimed poet

Hallucinogenic plants chant in chorus. A thoughtful dog grants an interview. A caterpillar offers life advice. Amy Gerstler's newest collection of poetry, Dearest Creature, marries fact and fiction in a menagerie of dramatic monologues, twisted love poems, and epistolary pleadings. Drawing on sources as disparate as Lewis Carroll and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as abnormal psychology, etiquette, and archaeology texts, these darkly imaginative poems probe what it means to be a sentient, temporary, flesh- and- blood beast, to be hopelessly, vividly creaturely.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amy Gerstler is a writer of poetry, nonfiction, and journalism. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her twelve previous books include Bitter Angel, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Original edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143116355
• ISBN-13: 978-0143116356
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dearest poet, February 3, 2010

By 

Norton - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearest Creature (Poets, Penguin) (Mass Market Paperback)

I normally don't buy poetry (or read it much), but a review quoted part of the opening poem in Amy Gerstler's collection Dearest Creature and I was hooked. Once I'd read the poems, the volume became one of my favorite Christmas gifts (seven more copies). One copy went to a friend who is a published poet and she was most approving (rare praise from her). Others cited it as the best gift they had received. It is a gift! If it only contained the poem, "For my Niece Sidney, Age Six" it would be worth it, but there are many more treasures in this slim volume. Like Sidney, who is described as "gripping your book like the steering wheel of a race car you're learning to drive" you'll be taking this volume with you as wonderful company through life's many tedious moments.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow is she fun to read!, March 29, 2010

By 

Michael Pantaleoni (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearest Creature (Poets, Penguin) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is decidedly not a learned review of a book of poetry. I don't buy poetry books tho' I do read a lot. So, after seeing a rave in the NY Times Book Review, I tried this one out...and love it! Try a page or two on this site (it it's possible) to get the flavor of this poet's writing. If it hits you like it did me, you will buy it and enjoy.