Playful and rich, formally inventive, funny and wry, McFadden's poems examine American identity through the latent possibilities of language. Transforming empty spans of interstate and inconspicuous small towns into landscapes fertile with wordplay and rampant with irony, McFadden makes letters themselves rearrange and conspire against commonplaces.
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From Publishers Weekly
In his debut, McFadden is big on wordplay, particularly anagrams. Attempting to make meaning of the similarities in words—how words as arrangements of letters may connect associatively—McFadden fashions a book too coherent to be Language Poetry, though it certainly pays its respects: Can't tell your oh from your ah? Go, go or else/ go ga-ga. What, were you born in a barn? Oh. Longer poems show a less self-conscious and more ruminative sensibility. In Famed Cities, the narrator reflects on memories of growing up in Ohio via a survey of cities in short poems rife with both cynicism and nostalgia. Typically, Cleveland is broken down to word bits: C-level fits:/ the even keel, average but no slacker. The poems are often a mouthful, and one occasionally wants more seriousness, but this debut showcases a wild and powerful wit in action. (Apr.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
These limber, overcaffeinated poems spring off the page like Olympic athletes, their motto not 'Faster, Higher, Stronger' but 'Smarter, Funnier, Wiser.' The stadium in which they run and leap is plastered with road signs, biblical misprints, anagrams, McFaddenisms of every kind. And everywhere cups of precious metal, ones from which the reader will drink again and again. --David Kirby, author of The House on Boulevard St.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterfully written,
By A. Garcia (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hardscrabble (The VQR Poetry Series) (Paperback)
Loved it. The author's wit and cleverness come flying off each page. He incredibly weaves his life story and personality into every poem through a masterful use of words and characters.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Word Wizardry,
By
This review is from: Hardscrabble (The VQR Poetry Series) (Paperback)
Mr. McFadden is an absolute wizard with words. He can twist and turn them in the most clever way. It's a a joy to read his work.
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Old English, San Francisco Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
practical essay Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old English, San Francisco Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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