Nietzsche's Horse [Paperback]

Christopher Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Twice a finalist for the Yale Younger Poets Series, Christopher Kennedy's long-awaited first book is finally here. Call it prose poetry; call it a collection of flash fictions (and by the way it refuses to be categorized, simply, as either). This is severely comic, important work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kennedy... carves a new space into the genre of American Surrealistic poetry..." --Rain Taxi, Summer 2002

From the Inside Flap

“Singular and deeply pleasurable. Chris Kennedy’s prosetry is a lonely anarchic nation-state unto itself, half vacation funspot, half eerie purgatorial layover. There is joy and dread here, in every carefully considered line, and evidence of a brain committed to giving shape to the thoughts we keep in a small box, on the top shelf, of our darkest, dankest closet.” –Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

“A haunting, complex, and very beautiful book. Kennedy has a deep understanding of American longing and the inevitable losses associated with that longing and, because he is a powerful artist, is able to make from that loss a wonderful victory: this moving portrait of the human heart examining itself.” –George Saunders, author of CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

“Nietzsche’s Horse is full of bad luck and surprises; a kind of American life that can turn religion or science or family quickly into a waking dream or nightmare. Christopher Kennedy is a remarkable storyteller, whispering little mysteries to the reader from many rooms in a concave house. Comic, bewildered, and brilliant, Nietzsche’s Horse is a riveting book.” –Michael Burkard, author of The Fires They Kept

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Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Mitki/Mitki Pr (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970780222
• ISBN-13: 978-0970780225
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,984,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Kennedy is the author of Ennui Prophet (BOA Editions, Ltd.), Encouragement for a Man Falling to His Death (BOA Editions, Ltd.), Trouble with the Machine (Low Fidelity Press), and Nietzsche's Horse (Mitki/Mitki Press). He is an associate professor of English at Syracuse University where he directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prosetry, January 14, 2002

By 

Sam Warner (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nietzsche's Horse (Paperback)

There's a small-minded, rigid part of me that wants writers to commit either to poetry or prose, and stop trying to do both at the same time. Christopher Kennedy's book amply demonstrates how wrong I am. Here is why the form exists, and how it should look when it's good. Kennedy has found and mapped new territory in the world, and in my own head. The title piece, Nietzsche's Horse, is one of the most powerful, lucid, and memorable poems I've ever read, in any form. I stand corrected, and happily so.

5.0 out of 5 stars This horse is a winner, May 21, 2002

By 

Shane R. Seely (The Lou) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nietzsche's Horse (Paperback)

Sounding a bit like Russell Edson's younger, more emotionally vulnerable cousin, Kennedy prosetry is funny and devastating, often at the same time. The voice has a straightness to it, giving the poems a fable-like quality, evident in some of the titles: "The Bird Man of Albatross," "The Man Who Invented Hunger," "Darwin's Last Stand." Like Edson's, this writing insists on its own logic to an extent that makes comedy; unlike Edson's, these poems take bold emotional risks. We should all be so resourceful and so brave.