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A Glass Half Full [Paperback]

Felix Dennis (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 15, 2004
Felix Dennis, better known as the enfant terrible of magazine publishing and one of Britain's richest men, has—astonishingly—become Britain's best-selling poet with A Glass Half Full.

American novelist and critic, Tom Wolfe, calls Dennis "a twenty-first century Kipling" and says that his poetry 'rollicks and rolls with rhyme, meter, and melody.'

Now, gathered together with an American audience in mind, together with a spoken-word CD, comes a selection of Dennis's poems.

Whether reflecting ruefully on getting older, celebrating Bob Dylan, serenading the United States or sending up the cliches and stereotypes of our times, Felix Dennis reveals himself as a poet with an eye for the tender telling detail, and a powerful gift for communication. Funny, touching, frank, and uncompromising, A Glass Half Full is a woonderful and inspiring collection.



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Stands the glass half empty,/ Or stands the glass half full?/ Hand me the decanter, man,/ I’ll take another pull." In September 1999, at the age of 52, while in the hospital for an unspecified disease, Dennis wrote his first poem—inspired by Dorothy Parker’s "Resume." What followed is this book of 194 poems (originally published by Hutchinson in the UK), a "spoken word" CD of Dennis reading (accompanied by haunting organ music) and a book tour called "Did I Mention the Free Wine?" According to Miramax, Dennis aims to bring poetry back to the masses. However, occasional poetry readers might be better off sticking with Blake or Billy Collins. After all, Dennis, a multimillionaire and the founder of Maxim magazine, is still a novice poet, and his verses appear to be limited by the idea of what poetry is. Thus, the collection abounds with "thees" and "thous" and gamely adheres to wobbly rhyme schemes. There are glimmers of Dennis’s way with words in this volume, mostly when he lets the language relax and his voice shines through. He can be funny and slightly bawdy, such as in the poem "Five and a Bit," which is in the shape of a phallus, or in "The Better Man": "You were the better at rolling reefer,/ I was the better with coke and rum;/ Remember that night on the beach at Ibiza?/ The Maori twins with the tattooed bum?" Interestingly, his true voice also seems to come out in the footnotes. There, he doesn’t let awkward rhyme inhibit him, revealing that he plans to be mummified in a "purpose-built pyramid" and detailing the virtues of a "snake-hipped, suede-booted blonde." Taken as prose poems, these footnotes may actually constitute some of the most entertaining, and most polished, works in the book. Illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A 21st century Kipling." -- Tom Wolfe

"An engaging monster, filled with contradictions and reeking of sulphur." -- The Times (of London)

"Brilliant!" -- Helen Gurley Brown, International Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan

"I enjoy his poetry immensely." -- Mick Jagger

"If Waugh were still alive, he would fall on Dennis's verse with a glad cry of recognition and approval." -- John Walsh, The Independent

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Miramax (September 15, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401359531
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401359539
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind poet; one of a kind book and CD. -- a really must have!, August 24, 2007
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This review is from: A Glass Half Full (Paperback)
Felix Dennis's, A Glass half Full is a one of a kind book and C.D. His poems could be described as delicious, with some poems deeply sensitive and serious and other poems very humerous, even bawdy. His irrerence in the poem, "A Glass Half Full " is very humerous and one of my favorites. The C.D. accompanying the largish book is extremely entertaining and one does not tire of listening to it, but always comes away in a happier,more edifyed mood. The intriguing background music lends interest as well. It is -- to put it most simply, simply enjoyable. For poetry lovers with a liking for dry humor and much wit -- with meter, I highly reccomend it.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Felix Hits A Bloody Homerun, September 29, 2004
By 
Scott M. (Levittown, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Glass Half Full (Paperback)
I am not really big on poetry. My friends invited me to a Felix Dennis concert in Philadelphia (mostly for the free wine!) What a treat it was. Mr Dennis' words struck many chords with me. His voice fit the material very well. Having the text on a screen next to him was helpful. If his primary goal is to renew interest in poetry... he is on the right track. I wish we could have stayed to meet him.
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8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Clear Voice, March 24, 2004
This review is from: A Glass Half Full (Paperback)
A Glass Half Full by Felix Dennis is a wonderful read. His poems have the depth and freshness of voice that I crave. He writes for himself and I want to listen. His thoughts come alive without fear and without a care in the world for what anyone thinks. He writes of love, sex, wine and life with an energy that I haven't seen in many years. I read his poems with the same excitement that I read Richard Brautigan in college many years ago. His poems remind me of past loves, fresh kisses, and lasting affection. What more could anyone ask?
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Parachutes tangle; Read the first page
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Ts'ai Lun, Dead White Males, Dublin Gate, Zero One
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