An autobiographical sequence of poems captures the richness and the pain, the rebellion and the tragedy of growing up in the South, chronicling the lives of two brothers living in a military family.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Recounting a childhood spent on military bases in the South during the '50s and '60s, Hudgins's ( The Never - Ending ) new book is not a glass hammer but a sequence of 65 little hammers--poems. He takes the tradition of the Southern narrative poem and gives it a new edge, paring down picturesque elements and allowing only the vital details to make it to the printer. Despite a highly developed technique, his voice has a rough veneer, which he cultivates, and for which he offers no apologies. This combination of craft and grit yields a poetry of aggressive charm. A novelistic quality runs through Hudgins's sequence. Though several familiar characters form the subject matter--the racist grandmother, the fundamentalist Baptist preacher, the author as a book-loving nerd--they are presented with a refreshing objectivity. It's as if Hudgins writes about them just long enough to locate both the demonic and the human, then places them on the shelf for posterity, to begin another poem. His book can and should be read as a chapter in the recent history of the South. It's a deftly composed chapter, conceived without undue glamour, filled with an adult's grateful remembrance and wary respect.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In a series of razor-sharp portraits, Hudgins describes what it is like to grow up in a Southern military family in the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout, he deftly balances memories of the tough love and flavorsome speech of his childhood ("Hard? You don't know what hard is, boy:/when I was your age we got up in pitch dark,/and walked five miles to school and ten miles back,...Shoot, you've always had/hot food plopped in front of you, like magic./ For you, it's all ice cream and soda pop") with his growing awareness of the pervasive racism and ignorance of his extended white family. The powerfully direct, anecdotal quality of these poems invites the reader to experience a deeply flawed world the poet has transformed into a more palatable place by his humor and compassion. Recommended for contemporary poetry collections.
Christine Stenstrom, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Christine Stenstrom, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Andrew Hudgins is the author of seven books of poems, including SAINTS AND STRANGERS, THE GLASS HAMMER, and ECSTATIC IN THE POISON. A finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, he is a recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships as well as the Harper Lee Award. He currently teaches in the Department of English at Ohio State University.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite,
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This review is from: The Glass Hammer: A Southern Childhood (Paperback)
I picked up Andrew Hudgins' "Glass Hammer" some years ago in a used book store, and since then, it's been one book of poetry I've returned to again and again and again. So much colorful memoir neatly packed into a scant 100 pages of gritty, downscale family history. To some extent, it reminds me of Joe Brainard's skeletal, "I Remember," but with a satisfying amount meat and potatoes on its bones. Though I wasn't raised in the South, Hudgin's childhood experiences are reminiscent of my own in a non-specific, indirect way. In addition to being a wonderful, compelling, return-to read on its own terms, I see it also as a valuable resource for those who want to write memoir. I heartily recommend this rich but spare book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
sublime,
By adead_poet@hotmail.com "adead_poet@hotmail.com" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: The Glass Hammer: A Southern Childhood (Paperback)
Hudgins is a great poet, and this is a great example of good metrical poetry (or good poetry of any kind) as well as a great example of a poetic memoir (or a memoir of any kind). Hudgins is a dark, elegant poet haunted by his past and his religion. I highly recommend this book.
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