Customer Reviews

Pomes All Sizes

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That is the central question to this collection of poems. All of them seem to be intoned with a sense of intentionally attacking the sacred tradition of being serious about poetry. And yet, some end up with beautiful moments and insights. And even if not that, there is still the vibration of enjoying life in an almost chaotic fusion of urge and meditation. Poems range from containing only one line ("I am God"), to pages of what seems to alternately be wandering drivel and intentional questioning of something that Jack seems to see but the reader quite doesn't. Overall, this is a MUST READ for those who like Kerouac. Specifically, at least two poems seem to be inherent to the creation of at least two books (On the Road and Dharma Bums). The Gary Snyder Haikus are downright hilarious in my mind, and capture perfectly that Zen Beatist sense of overindulged mentality in an underindulged world.

You won't understand Kerouac's writing style by reading On the Road or Dharma Bums. To really dig what he was getting at you have to read his "Belief & Technique in Modern Prose" then read some stuff like Pomes All Sizes, Old Angel Midnight, Visions of Cody, Mexico City Blues, etc.

Pomes All Sizes is full of astonishing pomes by one of the most important literary innovators of the 20th century, & along with Some of the Dharma it's Kerouac's most personal book. Yes, there's lots of silly fragments and intoxicated sketches (where else do you find a Kerouac pome written while on morphine or goofballs), but you gotta see Kerouac's style values spontaneity over crafted work, so it is these unpretentious, unselfconscious pomes that are among his greatest accomplishments.

This slim volume is jam-packed with mindblowing pomes: "Mexican Loneliness," "How to Meditate," "The Moon," "Skid Row Wine," "Long Island Chinese Poem Rain," "Silly Goofball Pomes," "God," "Bowery Blues," and dozens of haikus...

Yes, the book is inconsistent at times, after all it is selections from his private notebooks, but the great poems more than make up for the mediocre.

If you do not dig this book then you do not dig Kerouac. Nuff said.

Many quirky, beautiful moments here. Check out his mastery of the short lines, goofiness and mysticism.

If you read Kerouac's Pomes All Sizes you can find out what lapis lazuli is....

A brillant poetry reader

Meant to be read aloud and sung rhythmically.

Kerouac is known for on the road but this books is at least as brillant.

Also read "The Dharma Bums" which is a tremendous book about his belief in Buddhism on a much different road.

A must read for the serious Kerouac fan, Pomes is a "Why bother?" for everyone else. Ann Charters wrote "The quality most pure in Kerouac was his grasp that life is really a dream." Nowhere is this more evident than in the random jottings that has been published as Pomes All Sizes. There are some gems among his silly little haikus, and I truly enjoyed the first sequence of "Poems of the Buddhas of Old." Most of the collection left me scratching my head. Was Jack just having a bit of fun with us, or was he so advanced that I still can not grasp the meaning? "Life is like a dream. / You only believe it's real / Cause you're born a sucker / For that kind of deal;" In Pomes All Sizes the roses are beautiful, but the path to them is unpassable to all but the most devout.

I first heard most of this poetry on the CD "Kicks Joy Darkness". I was entranced, and went looking for the book. This is some of my favorite modern poetry. It has interesting rhythm, perspective, organization (or lack thereof) and a variety of emotions, ranging from goof ball stuff to poems about death. As usual with Kerouac you are constantly encountering Buddhism and Catholic thought, along with sexual themes. I do wish he would use grammar a bit more, but hey, I'm not a famous poet who represents a generation. Read it out loud for best effect.

Outstanding. Kerouac's claim to fame is inovative form, but here there is much content, as well.

this collection of kerouac's poems was a great dissapointment. i love his fiction (especially on the road), but his poetry left something to be desired.