Proposal [Paperback]

John Maloney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1999

Poetry. These are brimming poems; broadbacked and full of words and saved images we don't often hear. "...over a period of time. Straddle the rock/ you must place on the wall. Each stone/ must kiss three other stones, balancing/ weight for movement, turning the possible sides,// dragging the pung of the old-timers who/ knew, by ox, by horse, you level/ with the land, best to face the neighbors,/ shadow below for plumb, just work,// almost fun, breaking chalks in the raw sunset"--("Things We Can't Admit"). "An outstanding honesty of reaction to experience" --James Dickey. "No 'Me-generational' broodings here but a strong, challenging, richly varied book of intense interest. A unique volume" --Stanley Burnshaw. John Maloney has been a stonemason in Martha's Vineyard for twenty years. His poetry has been published in The New York Times, Poetry, Ploughshares, and Poetry Northwest.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Unlike many proletarian poets, Maloney has actually worked with his handsfor 20 years as a stonemason on Marthas Vineyardand his debut collection never romanticizes the backbreaking monotony of hard labor. With his unusual voice and his tendency to apostrophize, he heaps on words into narratives that look plainly at the world of his toil: Aubade to a Cement Truck opens the volume with its prayer-like address to the trucks barrels of sufficient grace; Proposal captures the back-and-forth haggling with a customer over an estimate for repairing a backyard wall; 8 YDS., 6 BAG MIX, 3/4'' STONE bemoans a concrete floor that hardens too fast, while Full Foundation reminds us gently that laying a foundation quickly and precisely matters, if only to the proud workers. Maloney admits the childlike pleasure of building a wall in the four-poem sequence, Things We Cant Admit, which also complains about telephone salesman who are engineers of the god / of durable goods. Wooden Ladder mocks the wealthy homeowners who expect him to work in a flash, but in it he also laughs at himself for always being ready to serve and never having strayed far from home. Neither does this volume. The fine love poems celebrate local beauties and include Cubist Kiss, which turns marvelously on the masons conceits (I would set 60 feet of tiger- pattern granite / for your fitted hug). And an eight-poem sequence of prayers and songs commemorates the town of Chilmark. Maloneys fortified diction works well against his everyday subjects: a well-bricked debut of regional interest as well. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

8 Yds., 6-bag Mix, 3/4 Stone
The Antique Power Show
April, Driving With The Radio On
Aubade To A Cement Truck
Bodies Of Water
Clown & Nothing
Cop Show
Country Journal
Cubist Kiss
Early Dusk
The Fishermen
Friend
Full Foundation
Good!
Her Tapes, Her Car, Radio, Twelve-hour Drive
How Do I Count Thee, Let Me Love The Ways
Imaginary Numbers
Invention Of Anger
Lace Stone Walls
Last Call
Making The Rip
May The Hills
Menemsha Bight
Metaphysics For Breakfast
The Middle Line
The Mountain Is Breathing
The Organic Food Store
Phosphorescence
A Poetry Reading
Proposal
Quenames
Running By Water
A Shot In The Mexican Night
Sing Goddamm
The State Versus...
Steady Dreamers
Storefront Window
Things We Can't Admit: 1. Building A Stone Wall
Things We Can't Admit: 2. Telephone Solicitors
Things We Can't Admit: 3. Vegetarian Restaurant
Things We Can't Admit: 4. Van Gogh Over The Piano
Tombaugh's Discovery
Town Meeting
Waiting For Whalers
Walking The Raised White Line
Woman Stepping From Her Bath
Wooden Ladder
Words
You
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: Zoland Books Inc; 1st edition (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581950047
• ISBN-13: 978-1581950045
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,546,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent poetry and accessible to everyone., July 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Proposal (Paperback)

Proposal is a must read for poetry lovers but is also a wonderful book for people who don't read a lot of poetry. Because the subject matter is so varied and the words so alive and about real things, it is truely a work to be appreciated by everyone. We will be hearing his name in the poetry world quite a bit.