The Irrationalist [Perfect Paperback]

Suzanne Buffam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

“Buffam’s often deadpan tone is like a magical dustpan that sweeps up the strangest observations and ideas, all worlds to themselves. Her ‘Little Commentaries’—‘On Piñatas,’ ‘On Fountains,’ and ‘On Vanishing Acts’ (to name only a few)—are absolute gems, kin to Anne Carson’s town poems and Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit. Buffam’s poems tug at new corners of the brain. They’re marvelous.”
- Matthea Harvey

“Buffam begins with a world that ends, a world that is always ending. This is not despair, but a shrewd mind behind an honest eye that in wry observation creates out of small poems a book of knowledge, ‘Little Commentaries,’ which show there is no wisdom unsharpened by wounding wit. That motion is an essential motion, and these are essential poems.”
- Dan Beachy-Quick

“These poems try to achieve something almost impossible: not to betray the ironic today while celebrating the interiority of a serious meditation. And they succeed in doing it. What a treat!”
- Adam Zagajewski

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prosy and conversational, Buffam's poetry is full of heavy thought and dark humor, asking, can worth be conferred/ on a less than epic urge? She offers advice, I say wear a watch if you must/ But don't count on it, but also writes with the belief that sooner or later/ All burning houses will be mine. Buffam writes with the conviction that everything is worth observing, but that everything, good or bad, is basically the same—a moment that happens and is gone. The second section of this second book, Little Commentaries, borders on aphorism, with poems of no more than two or three lines, such as On Valleys: To be a valley/ Find a hill/ And lie down at its feet. Buffam manages to be penetrating and at the same time flippant: Any idiot can become a genius if she wants it badly enough, she says, seemingly claiming everything, no matter what the scale, is temporary or cyclical: Enjoy the view while you can,/ Mt. Everest. (Apr.)
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Review

Prosy and conversational, Buffam's poetry is full of heavy thought and dark humor, asking, "can worth be conferred/ on a less than epic urge?" She offers advice, "I say wear a watch if you must/ But don't count on it," but also writes with the belief that "sooner or later/ All burning houses will be mine." Buffam writes with the conviction that everything is worth observing, but that everything, good or bad, is basically the same--a moment that happens and is gone. The second section of this second book, "Little Commentaries," borders on aphorism, with poems of no more than two or three lines, such as "On Valleys": "To be a valley/ Find a hill/ And lie down at its feet." Buffam manages to be penetrating and at the same time flippant: "Any idiot can become a genius if she wants it badly enough," she says, seemingly claiming everything, no matter what the scale, is temporary or cyclical: "Enjoy the view while you can,/ Mt. Everest." --Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Canarium Books; First edition (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982237634
• ISBN-13: 978-0982237632
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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