A Gringo Like Me: Poems [Paperback]

Jennifer L. Knox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2005

Borrowing its title from an Ennio Morricone ditty in the spaghetti western Gunfight at Red Sands, Jennifer L. Knox’s A Gringo Like Me contains poems at once raucous and sexy, tender and raw. Knox has collected dramatic monologues, personal lyrics, and even screenplays together in a single energetic volume for a genuinely surprising debut. In favorites such as “Hot Ass Poem,” “Cruising for Prostitutes,” and “Chicken Bucket,” Knox’s quirky characters appear ornery, hickish, misogynist, or worse, but each elucidates a truth worth knowing, even if it’s not always welcome. In poems like "A Common American Name" and "Freckles," Knox’s lyrical voice charms readers. Between the poles of her unique range, Knox straddles and tames what she may yet prove to be an artificial divide in American poetry: she's a former slam champion, but also a two-time contributor to The Best American Poetry; she's a hilarious performer on stage, but also a deeply intellectual and formally disciplined poet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If Jeff Koons and R. Crumb collaborated on a book of poems, it might look something like this." -- Mark Doty, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

"In her first go, this poet has given us one 'hot ass book ass' to admire for a good long time." -- Southeast Review

"Knox's first book, A Gringo Like Me, reads more like Richard Pryor with a MFA." -- Verse

"[A] deep understanding of form and prosody underlies what are crafted to resemble poems of loose spontaneity." -- Columbia Journal of American Studies

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (September 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932360980
• ISBN-13: 978-1932360981
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,592,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STUNNING!, November 11, 2005

By 

Lala "Lala" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gringo Like Me: Poems (Paperback)

When you first begin to read Jennifer L. Knox's stunning accomplishment, A Gringo Like Me, you get sucked in to the world of the poems immediately as if pulled under water. Each poem has its own character and life to it--rough edges, foul mouths, sexual urges, heartbreaking statistics, insanity, and a language so full of textured sounds and the bold ringing of alarms--it is easy to see how this poet has established herself as a lightening rod in the poetry community. While some poems make you laugh uncontrollably with their hysterical honesty and colloquial stories, underneath all of these poems is a true respect and awe for what a person must do in order to survive. In this book we are introduced to all walks of life and allowed to see behind the curtain, underneath the skirt, inside the mind, all guided by the expert hand (and voice) of a genius poet. As a storyteller, Knox is uniquely brutal, as a comic she is strangely tragic, and as a poet she is a master of a language so bold and welcoming that when she pulls you under her water, you find that you are not only able to swim, you are able to breathe.

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb and funny book, November 1, 2006

By 

D. Illich "rockvillegovtwriter" (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Gringo Like Me: Poems (Paperback)

MFA students should be handed this book when they get to school -- yes, it is possible to write engaging, accessible verse that is funny, outrageous, and lyrical. Ms. Knox, along with writers like Jeffrey McDaniel and Matthew Zapruder, are showing a new way to engage with popular culture while at the same time writing poetry that can please any poetry fan.

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, Funny, and Fantastic!, April 2, 2006

By 

Joynes Reading Room (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gringo Like Me: Poems (Paperback)

This book is a joy to read. Knox has a talent for recognizing the absurdities of life and celebrating them. Her readings are spectacular phenomena. She is exuberant, animated, and absolutely in command of every word, every perfect inflection.