The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems (Southern Messenger Poets) [Paperback]

David Kirby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007 | Series: Southern Messenger Poets

Long-lined and often laugh-aloud funny, Kirby's poems are ample steamer trunks into which the poet seems to be able to put just about anything-the heated restlessness of youth, the mixed blessings of self-imposed exile, the settled pleasures of home. As the poet Philip Levine says, "the world that Kirby takes into his imagination and the one that arises from it merge to become a creation like no other, something like the world we inhabit but funnier and more full of wonder and terror. He has evolved a poetic vision that seems able to include anything, and when he lets it sweep him across the face of Europe and America, the results are astonishing." The poems in The House on Boulevard St. were written within earshot of David Kirby's Old World masters, Shakespeare and Dante. From the former, Kirby takes the compositional method of organizing not only the whole book but also each separate section as a dream; from the latter, a three-part scheme that gives the book rough symmetry.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Kirby has always been funny, but whereas his earlier poems (see I Think I Am Going to Call My Wife Paraguay, 2004) are in short, punchy lines appropriate to their wit, the later ones consist of relatively long-lined paragraphs. Kirby has made the latter distinctively his form by mastering the run-on sentence more completely than any other American poet. Sure, Beats such as Ginsberg and Snyder run on like crazy, but the principle of their verse is projection; the poet propels consciousness to ever further levels or degrees of reality, taking readers on a spiritual trip, and syntactic sense be damned. Kirby runs on considerably less cosmicly, like a good raconteur (which he is), one whom you can't not listen to; his peers are prose writers--Mark Twain, James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, and Stephen King. Kirby's voice and matter (teaching, literature, traveling, rock 'n' roll, everyday bozohood) are utterly personal and, despite all the laughter, ultimately moving. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

The Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University, David Kirby is the author of numerous books, including the poetry collections The Ha-Ha and The House of Blue Light. He is a recipient of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry and a Guggenheim fellowship, among other honors. He and his wife, poet Barbara Hamby, live in Tallahassee. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807132152
• ISBN-13: 978-0807132159
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book of poetry, December 6, 2007

By 

solardeity (Southern California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems (Southern Messenger Poets) (Paperback)

This is my favorite book of poetry because it is literate, funny, and most important of all, accessible. In general, I'm not a fan of poetry. But Kirby makes it addicting and enjoyable and even sometimes laugh out loud funny. Worth every penny. Highly recommended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars short stories or poems?, November 6, 2007

By 

Daniel H. Potter (SF California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems (Southern Messenger Poets) (Paperback)

I am not familiar with David Kirby's other works but I soon will be - nor have I encountered his style of writing that blends narrative story telling with poetic sensibilities. I feel as if I have discovered a new art form and a way of seeing the world that is colored with insight and whimsy - My Dead Dad is a great example: child like imagination with grown-up introspection. Thanks David Kirby!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great prose poetry, April 13, 2011

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Liam Malone (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems (Southern Messenger Poets) (Paperback)

Mr. Kirby writes engaging prose poetry. Perhaps some of the finest being produced in the US right now. I walk away feeling I've read a short story because I feel he presents place and character so well. But, without losing that poetic quality of immediacy or capturing that past moment.