New Addresses: Poems [Paperback]

Kenneth Koch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001

Kenneth Koch, who has already considerably "stretched our ideas of what it is possible to do in poetry" (David Lehman), here takes on the classic poetic device of apostrophe, or direct address. His use of it gives him yet another chance to say things never said before in prose or in verse and, as well, to bring new life to a form in which Donne talked to Death, Shelley to the West Wind, Whitman to the Earth, Pound to his Songs, O'Hara to the Sun at Fire Island.  

Koch, in this new book, talks to things important in his life -- to Breath, to World War Two, to Orgasms, to the French Language, to Jewishness, to Psychoanalysis, to Sleep, to his Heart, to Friendship, to High Spirits, to his Twenties, to the Unknown. He makes of all these "new addresses" an exhilarating autobiography of a most surprising and unforeseeable kind.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Am I a yes/ to be posed in the face of a negative alternative?/ Or has the sky taken away from me its ultimate guess/ About how probably everything is going to be eventually terrible/ Which is something we knew all along, being modified by a yes." This masterful 16th collection finds Koch, a first-generation New York School poet well-known for long, often comic works ("When the Sun Tries to Go On"; "The Art of Love"), directly addressing a variety of life's trials and tribulations through a series of one- to three-page anthropomorphizing apostrophes. Poems are directed "To WWII," "To Jewishness," "To Psychoanalysis" and to such intangibles as "Duration," "Destiny," "The Unknown" and, as in the above quote, "Yes." The poems based on time spent as an infantryman in the South Pacific are particularly effective, and Koch gives up none of his comic timing for predictable solemnity: "The hornets attacked me, and Lonnie,/ The corporal, said "Soldier get off your ass!"/ Later the same day, I stepped on a booby trap/ That was badly wired. You/ Had been there too./ Thank you. It didn't explode" ("To Carelessness"). Blending nuanced echoes of O'Hara, Stevens and Max Jacob, Koch has managed to create a form and inflection that takes on the variousness of the poet's life with startling movement and without the least bit of decaying bathos, despite the naturally reflective tone of some of the poems (such as "To Old Age"). In fact, the lightness of poems like "To Orgasm" and "To Kidding Around," while disarming, is always backed by forceful directness and sheer sonic delight. Arriving on the heels of Making Your Own Days, a book that sums up many of Koch's ideas about the pleasures of poetry, New Addresses contains some of this ineffable poet's finest work to date. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

"How can I ever say what's in my heart/ While imitating the head butts of a rhinoceros," the prolific Koch asks in "To Kidding Around," one of 50 poems in this new collection. For Koch, one mechanism of getting things said directly seems to be in keeping his poems short (with less space for his trademark antics). Readers who respect Koch's writing but aren't moved by the clown guise have been waiting for a book such as this. Yet Koch's gimmick-prone methodology is still very much in evidence: the "addresses" of the title are literal, the speaker accusing, praising, or querying abstract concepts, emotions, bits of himself, and his past. In short: self-revelation, protected by a somewhat corny "you." At its best, as in "To The Roman Forum," the outward focus becomes a means of handling sentimentality. The resulting poems vary greatly, from the clear emotional buildup of "To My Father's Business" (reminiscent of David Ignatow's early work) or "To Jewishness" to the zany mindlessness of "To Testosterone" or "To Jewishness and China." Recommended for most poetry collections, this is a perfect introduction for new readers.
-Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; Reprint edition (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375709126
• ISBN-13: 978-0375709128
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vibrant and good humored, April 21, 2000

By 

theplumms "theplumms" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: New Addresses (Hardcover)

These poems are so witty and easily read that I almost made the mistake missing their depth or emotional resonance. It is only on the second or third reading of a poem like "To My Twenties" that a phrase like "What you gave me you gave me whole/But as for telling/Me how best to use it/You weren't a genius at that" did I really see the breezyness of that style emulates the ease with which those years in someone's life can fly by. I was moved.

5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiographical personal poetry appeals, October 23, 2005

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Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: New Addresses: Poems (Paperback)

These poems are addresses to subjects and through them Koch in a sense not only gives us his ideas and attitudes about these subjects but tells his own life -story. I found of particular interest his poem on 'Jewishness' in which he really explains his changing attitude to this element of his identity. The 'poem 'in a sense represents a return to a subject long- neglected. And if it lacks a deeper connection with the religious meanings of Judaism it nonetheless is rich with incidents and perceptions. One of these relates to Koch's experience as a soldier on Leyte where he overhears another soldier say ," Where are the Jews" . Koch does not reply. This small part of the poem moved me. My uncle Larry Zeibert of blessed memory was another Jewish soldier on Leyte. He in fact was in the first Ranger landing boat in the invasion.
Koch's poetry reveals great intelligence, and sensitivity. This is one of those books of poetry one can read and understand and learn from.

5.0 out of 5 stars Koch's Best, April 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: New Addresses: Poems (Paperback)

Easily Koch's best book -- and that is saying a lot.

All the poems here are written as direct address -- the "you" in each poem is an inanimate object, place, thing, or event...allowing the poet to write deeply and freely about the important events in his life. In the end, you realize it is a kind of autobiography.

"New Addresses" is moving, connected, funny, adventurous, experimental, free. It's a huge success. You should read it.