Night Out: Poems About Hotels, Motels, Restaurants and Bars [Paperback]

Kurt Brown (Editor), Laure-Anne Bosselaar (Editor), Gerald Stern (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 1997

An anthology of poetry containing the work of 125 noted American poets evokes the nightspots, hotels, bars, greasy spoons, and similar refuges from the demands of daily life and the feelings, thoughts, and sensations they bring out in us. Original. IP.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Get ready to hang out! This unique anthology of poems takes you to the hot and not-so-hot spots of American nightlife, and what a night out it is! The collection showcases 125 notable contemporary poets, including Raymond Carver, Galway Kinnell, Susan Mitchell, Joy Harjo, and many more. From hamburger hells to heavenly hotels, weary waitresses to blurry bar hounds, Night Out contains the dreams and nightmares of those who find themselves in a very real twilight zone.

Review

Intimacy by Kim Theresa Addonizio
The Man From The Restaurant by Joan Aleshire
Pragmatists by Joan Aleshire
The Keeper Of The Dead Hotel by Agha Shahid Ali
Morning At The Cafe Du Monde by Carlen Arnett
8-ball At The Twilite by David Baker
Kate And Gary's Bar, Red River, New Mexico by John Balaban
Dixie Remembers The Runway by Ruth Anderson Barnett
Mike's Bar, Off 1-5, North Of Victorville by Ruth Anderson Barnett
Fleetwood Cafe by Charles Baxter
A True Story by Marvin Bell
Dining Late by Bruce Berger
Motel Room Curtains by Bruce Berger
Smoke And Mirrors by Bruce Berger
Report From Nirvana by Sophie Cabot Black
Letter From Jake's Place, Durango by Laure-anne Bosselaar
Parentheses by Laure-anne Bosselaar
Kid Flash by Lucie Brock-broido
The Letter L by Lucie Brock-broido
Two Restaurants: 1. The Trough by Kurt Brown
Two Restaurants: 2. The Glass Case by Kurt Brown
Wide World Of Sports by Kurt Brown
Poem For My Brother, Manager Of Go-go Bar In Roselle Park, New Jersey by Andrea Hollander Budy
The Only Dance There Is by Rebecca Byrkit
At The Foxtrot Motel by William Carpenter
The Husbands by William Carpenter
In The Lobby Of The Hotel Del Mayo by Raymond Carver
Reading Something In The Restaurant by Raymond Carver
Cafe Macondo by Elizabeth Clamen
La Terrasse Des Marronniers by Elizabeth Clamen
Bar Time by Billy Collins
Bad Manners by Wyn Cooper
Fun by Wyn Cooper
The Angelfish by Mark Cox
Divorce by Mark Cox
Inhospitable by Mark Cox
Corsica Jean And Juanita's Palace by Silvia Curbelo
Last Call by Silvia Curbelo
Summer Storm by Silvia Curbelo
Bar Pastoral by Robert Patrick Dana
Short-order Cook by Jim Daniels
Ted's Bar And Grill by Jim Daniels
Caffe Trieste by Alison Hawthorne Deming
Saturday, J.'s Oyster Bar by Alison Hawthorne Deming
Adultery by James Dickey
Tenderly by Stephen Dobyns
To A Red-headed Do-good Waitress by Alan Dugan
Belly Dancer At The Hotel Jerome by Stephen Elliott Dunn
Tucson by Stephen Elliott Dunn
Discovering The Photograph Of Lloyd, Earl, And Priscilla by Lynn Emanuel
The Night Man At The Blue Lite by Lynn Emanuel
Outside Room Six by Lynn Emanuel
Transient Hotel Sky At The Hour Of Sleep by Martin Espada
Cafe Notre Dame by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Holiday Inn Blues by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Ristorane Vittoria, Milan by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Fall In The Equinox Cafe by Donald Finkel
Patience by Carol Frost
Draft Of The Smoky Life by Forrest Gander
Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles by Richard Garcia
In The Hotel by Jorie Graham
Old Sonny by Alvin David Greenberg
Cafeteria In Boston by Thomson William Gunn
Elysian Fields by Marilyn Hacker
Deer Dancer by Joy Harjo
Night Out by Joy Harjo
Pool Is A Godless Lsport by James Haug
Terminal Hotel by James Haug
The Manager by Gary Hawkins
Bar Story by Brooks Haxton
Iowa Blues Bar Spiritual by Juan Felipe Herrera
Moon Winx Motel by Emily Hiestand
Hotel Window by Edward Hirsch
Travellers by Tony Hoagland
Dancer At Kozani's by Richard Hugo
Death Of The Kapowsin Tavern by Richard Hugo
The Only Bar In Dixon by Richard Hugo
What The Brand New Freeway Won't Go By by Richard Hugo
Jackson Hotel by Lynda Hull
Night Waitress by Lynda Hull
Hotel With Birds by Lewis Hyde
Cleveland Summer Of Nickel Tips by Colette Inez
Mitch by Colette Inez
Short Order Cook, Blue Mill Diner by Colette Inez
The Western Hotel by Mark Irwin
All-night Diners by Denis Johnson
In A Rented Room by Denis Johnson
A Woman by Denis Johnson
The All-night Diner by Markham P., Iii Johnson
On The Bearing Of Waitresses by Rodney Jones
In A Prominent Bar In Secaucus One Day by X. J. Kennedy
The Man On The Hotel Room Bed by Galway Kinnell
Admission Of Failure by Phyllis Koestenbaum
Boarding House by Ted Kooser
Gem Inn, Kandy by Marilyn Krysl
The Chambermaids In The Marriott In Mid-morning by Maxine W. Kumin
The Illumination by Stanley Jasspon Kunitz
Lunch With My Ex by Wendy Wilder Larsen
Landrum's Diner, Reno by Dorianne Laux
The Beacon Of Winchester County by Jon Lavieri
Breakfast At The Golden Egg Cafe by Jon Lavieri
Meditation On Lloyd's Diner by Jon Lavieri
The Midget by Philip Levine
The Seven Doors by Philip Levine
The Accident by Lisa Lewis
Motel Seedy by Thomas Lux
One Meat Ball by Thomas Lux
Dancing At The Chelsea by Dionisio D. Martinez
Folklore by Dionisio D. Martinez
Another Beer by William Matthews
Lunch In Hell by William Matthews
Mingus At The Half Note by William Matthews
Mingus At The Showplace by William Matthews
A Story Often Told In Bars: The Reader's Digest Version by William Matthews
The Stardust by Linda Mccarriston
Angels And The Bars Of Manhattan by Campbell Mcgrath
Gig At Big Al's by Heather Mchugh
The Most by Heather Mchugh
Spilled by Heather Mchugh
The Hotel-keepers by William Stanley Merwin
Hungry Eye At The Flin Flon by Peter Michelson
Feeding The Ducks At The Howard Johnson Motel by Susan Mitchell
The Hotel By The Sea by Susan Mitchell
A Story by Susan Mitchell
Museum Garden Cafe by Laura Mullen
At The Meadowlands Hotel by Peter E. Murphy
At The Waterloo Hotel by Peter E. Murphy
The Oasis Motel by William Olsen
Hotel St. Louis, New York City, Fall 1969 by Gregory Orr
Transients Welcome by Gregory Orr
Beer by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
Coldburn Vertigo by Greg Pape
Desert Motel Before Dawn by Greg Pape
In The Bluemist Motel by Greg Pape
Goodbye Hello In The East Village by Molly Peacock
Mr. Ho's by Michael Pettit
Vanna White's Bread Pudding by Michael Pettit
The Leather Bar by Ralph Pomeroy
The Poet Flexes His Magnanimity by Browning Porter
Romanticism by Lawrence Raab
The Remarkable Objectivity Of Your Old Friends by Liam Rector
For The Barmaid Unhappy With He Size Of Her Breasts by John Reinhard
In This New England Inn's Bed by Martha Rhodes
The Road Out by David Rivard
The Wheel Of The Hungry Is Turning by David Rivard
At The Half Note Cafe (version B) by Ira Sadoff
The Bus Boy by Ira Sadoff
The Enormous Aquarium by Sherod Santos
Harvey Wallbanger by Peter Sears
Lip's Lounge by Peter Sears
The Tablecloth Explanation by Peter Sears
Pressed Duck by Frederick Seidel
Waitress by Jason Shinder
For The Sake Of Amelia by Charles Simic
Hotel Insomnia by Charles Simic
Paradise Motel by Charles Simic
The Partial Explanation by Charles Simic
The Bar Of Forgetfulness by Michael Simon
Out Of Season by Louis Simpson
Excuse For A Love Poem by John Skoyles
The Fo'c'sle by John Skoyles
Kilcullen & Murray's by John Skoyles
Redneck Riviera by Charlie Smith
At The Greek's Bar by Dave Smith
Leaving The Motel by William Dewitt Snodgrass
These Are The Streets by Mark Solomon
Rose Room by Gilbert Sorrentino
Waltz Of The Empty Roadhouse by Gilbert Sorrentino
Sweet Dreams At The Silver Slipper Tavern by Richard Speakes
Fanks by Sheryl A. St. Germain
Desire by David St. John
Hotel Sierra by David St. John
The All-night Waitress by Maura Stanton
At Bickford's by Gerald Stern
There Is Wind, There Are Matches by Gerald Stern
The Latest Hotel Guest Walks Over Particles That Revolve by Ruth Stone
The Landlady In Bangkok by Karen Swenson
Surface And Structure: Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles by Karen Swenson
At The Days End Motel by James Tate
Chanel No. 5 by Chase Twichell
The Hotel Du Nord by Chase Twichell
Worldliness by Chase Twichell
Hamburger Heaven by Michael Van Walleghen
Dancing With Poets by Ellen Bryant Voigt
Midsummer: 3 by Derek Walcott
Midsummer: 36 by Derek Walcott
A Hotel By Any Other Name by Eva Macey Watson
The Buckhorn Exchange by Dara Wier
The Regulars by Charles Kenneth Williams
Second Persons: Cafe De L'abbaye by Charles Kenneth Williams
The Hotel by Renate Wood
Knowing The End by Susan Wood
Bar Giamaica, 1959-60 by Charles Penzel, Jr. Wright
Hotel Lenox by James Wright
Old Man Drunk by James Wright
Take Good Care Of Yourself by Mark Wunderlich
Zarzyski Meets The Copenhagen Angel by Paul Zarzyski
Zarzyski Stomachs The Oxford Special With Zimmer ... by Paul Zarzyski
Romance by Paul Zimmer
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Seedy motels, greasy diners, and bars that provide "forgettably pleasing" nights are among the quintessentially American hangouts celebrated here by 125 poets. In Jorie Graham's "In the Hotel," the speaker lies awake and alone in her rented room listening in on "[a] moaning now--a human moan--and then / another cry--but small" which leads her to ask, "How heavy can the singleness become? / Who will hear us? What shall we do?" Campbell McGrath breezily eulogizes downtown Manhattan, with its "hipsters and bikers and crazy Ukrainians," and "all the black-clad chicks lined up like vodka bottles on Avenue B," while Liam Rector copes with the aftermath of a friend's suicide: "We did right by your death and went out, / Right away, to a public place to drink, / To be with each other, to face it." From start to finish, this vivid and diverse collection is a well-deserved tribute to insomniacs, misfits, and the ordinary comforts we seek in the dead of night.
Copyright © 1996, Boston Review. All rights reserved. -- From The Boston Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions; 1st edition (March 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571314059
• ISBN-13: 978-1571314055
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,793,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and Real, September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Out: Poems About Hotels, Motels, Restaurants and Bars (Paperback)

The title of the anthology is what initially captured my attention. Although the theme may not be typical of an anthology, the poetry is wonderful. Yet, what I loved the most about this collection is the way each poem reflects a moment whether self-reflective, angry, or lonely clearly and succinctly without any exaggerations. I definitely suggest this book to those who like poetry that is beautiful through its honesty and simplicity.