Satellite [Paperback]

Matthew Rohrer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

In this follow-up collection to the National Poetry Series winner A Hummock in the Malookas, Rohrer’s poems play against convention, finding dark, surreal underpinnings in the seemingly innocent objects and experiences of everyday life. Direct, humorous and disquieting, Satellite further develops the unique sensibility of an important young poet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The surface ease and playfulness of these poems belie their seriousness." -- Chase Twichell

A shimmering constellation of images, both urban and wild, filled with unexpected twists and shifts. -- Time Out New York

Everywhere marked by originality and freshness.... wakes one up and clears the senses. -- Harvard Review

The surface ease and playfulness of these poems belie their seriousness... They're smart, inventive, and sneakily profound. -- Chase Twichell

About the Author

Matthew Rohrer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and grew up in Oklahoma. He attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop, University College Dublin, and the University of Michigan, where he won the Avery Hopwood Award for poetry. His first book, A Hummock in the Malookas, was a winner of the National Poetry Series and chosen as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1995. Mary Oliver called his work "beautiful and disquieting," and Harvard Review notes that his poems are "everywhere marked by freshness and originality." He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered - The Book Show, and is a poetry editor of Fence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 86 pages
• Publisher: Wave Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970367236
• ISBN-13: 978-0970367235
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #792,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars herbaceous perhaps, but no clover here, July 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Satellite (Paperback)

Matthew Rohrer established his plain-spoken, dreamy style in his 1995 book, A Hummock in the Malookas (two years before Clover's mentor/professor Jorie Graham got his book published). There is no pseudo-intellectuality or political posturing in Rohrer's work, and his attitude is never snide. Rohrer's poetry does exude a hipness, though, which could be a sin in certain quarters, except that Rohrer's attitude in his poems seems far more embracing and genuine than Clover's preening. And Rohrer's style has nothing in common with Clover's, or Graham's, and that should be refreshing to readers looking for poems that don't gyrate self-consciously across the page.

While Hummock was imaginative and unsettling, Satellite demonstrates a darker vision. Rohrer has matured a bit, he's more intent on having each poem forward something--an idea, an image, an emotion, an arrangement--in unexpected and often breathtaking ways. Satellite is subtly sinister, and it grows with repeated readings. It might not be as instantly likeable as Hummock, but it has more lasting power.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a field scorched of clovers, May 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Satellite (Paperback)

I went to school with both Clover and Rohrer, and I'm not close with either. I can, however, attest to the fact that both poets have very different styles and neither has influenced the other. Satellite is singular in its vision, and grows clearly from the strengths of Rohrer's first book. It is a compelling book that takes considerably more effort to read than A Hummock. Ms. Fuller would do herself a favor if she took the time to read past "surfaces" and offer more than just a knee jerk reaction.

3 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clover-Effect, July 18, 2001

By 

Krista A. Fuller (Epping, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Satellite (Paperback)

This poet likes surfaces, glitterings on the tops of otherwise real emotions and ideas. It's one of the first glimpses of the effect that young gun Joshua Clover has had on his generation. I can't recommedn this book at all.