Slanky [Paperback]

Mike Doughty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Cult poet and musician Mike Doughty makes his print debut with Slanky, a black-comic stroll through the demimondes of pop culture and modern urban life. Doughty’s poems are at once absurdist and matter-of-fact; the images he conjures are thrown into high relief through cutting wordplay. In a series of prose poems about showbiz, he reimagines Cookie Monster as a burned-out suicide, and cheesy talk-show host Joe Franklin as a cross-dressing witness to the apocalypse. And in “For Charlotte, Unlisted,” he wrenchingly tracks the elusive memory of a faded romance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887128719
• ISBN-13: 978-1887128711
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,203,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars and you gonna like it... and that's a promise!, December 13, 2002

By 

Pen Name? "fluxus" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Slanky (Paperback)

Mike Doughty is a master of wordplay and unique rythym patterns. His style both reveals his new york influences and his associations with other NY poets and musicians, but is still totally unique and distinctive. He had been printing and selling copies of this collection for quite a while, but I'm glad to see that Soft Skull has done it justice. Folks familiar with other Soft Skull poets like Todd Colby (who Doughty once referred to as a "New Jack Quasimodo") or John S. Hall will be into this, though Doughty is much more a "serious" poet than either of those men, there is much dark humor abound in Slanky. And if you love Soul Coughing or Doughty's solo records, you'll definitely be into this. you can't read these poems with out hearing his voice in them. This is a very interesting book, kids.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mike doughty rocks poetry, September 19, 2002

By 

chris beresford-hill (poquott, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slanky (Paperback)

If you love discovering the beauty of language, you will adore this book. Even though I know every word by heart, I still pour over the pages. I promise, this book will not dissapoint.

4.0 out of 5 stars Mike Is One of the Coolest, November 30, 2009

By 

J. Hartshorne "Adarg" (Key West, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Slanky (Paperback)

I probably listen to Soul Coughing at least once a day, maybe twice. Mike's solo stuff has felt a little lacking, but it isn't bad. I mostly don't like it because I discovered Soul Coughing first.

Anyway, I said that to say this: "Slanky" is a great book.

Whether you're a Soul Coughing fan or a Mike Doughty fan; hell, even both, you will like this book. It's filled to the brim with abstract and beautiful insights from Mike's point of view of the world, along with some rhythmic poems that sort of feel like a song when reading them. There are even some short (SHORT) stories.

Definitely worth more than one read, "Slanky" is a book to own if you're a fan of Mike's music or just someone looking for some excellent poetry.