Spring Comes To Chicago [Paperback]

Campbell McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

Capitalism and American Noiseintroduced readers to the musical, comedic, and impassioned voice of poet Campbell McGrath. Now, in Spring Comes to Chicago, McGrath pushes deeper into the jungle of American culture, exposing and celebrating our native hungers and dreams. In the centerpiece of the book, "The Bob Hope Poem," McGrath confronts the paradoxes that energize and confound us--examining his own avid affection for People magazine and contemplating such diverse subjects as Wittgenstein, meat packers, money, and, of course, Bob Hope himself. Whether viewing this life with existential gravity or consumerist glee, McGarth creates poetry that is at once public and profoundly personal.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Make a joyful noise,' the Psalms urgeus, and Campbell McGarth does just that in American Noise.... Like a settler, he stakes his claim, and it is a large one. What a pleasure to walk this land with him." -- Cynthia MacDonald

"Capitalism is a sprawling, chest-thumping, yet tender take on America. Whitman, Sandburg, and Ginsburg are its fathers." -- -- Detroit Free Press

"Veering between ecstasy and apocalypse, [American Noise] asserts [McGarth's] place among American poetry's grand-gesturing celebrants.... Young though he is... he understands the patience and care it takes 'to suspend the body of our dreams from poetry's slender reed.'" -- New York Times Book Review

Cargo Cults In The Republic Of Dreams
Commodity Fetishism In The White City
Delphos, Ohio
The First Trimester
The Golden Angel Pancake House
Hope: An Elegy
The Road To Utopia
The Secret Life Of Capital
Spring Comes To Chicago
The Triumph Of Rationalism
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

About the Author

Campbell McGrath's previous collections are Shannon, Seven Notebooks, Capitalism, American Noise, Spring Comes to Chicago, Road Atlas, Florida Poems, and Pax Atomica. His awards include the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. He teaches in the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 1st edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880014849
• ISBN-13: 978-0880014847
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last, best hope for poetry, November 22, 1998

By 

Rob Margolis ([e-mail]) (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spring Comes To Chicago (Paperback)

Two years ago, I sat down with this thin book and a bottle of expensive bourbon. I remember becoming aware of my breathing as I read "The Golden Angel Pancake House" and soon, without having touched any liquor yet, my head started to spin. I had forgotten that words could have such power and irresistible momentum. Only Whitman had ever done that for me.

The following day, I read "The Bob Hope Poem" in one sitting, pulled along by the language at great speed. The thing is a glorious beast of a poem, a swooping roller coaster that raises your spirits to nose-bleed heights, sends you careening downhill under 5 g's of sadness, and then redeems you with pure happiness. Never mind "I laughed, I cried" - you will gain a new understanding of emotion.

That someone can write like this is inspiring and renewing; it reminds us why poetry matters.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book, even for non-poetry readers!, December 31, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spring Comes To Chicago (Paperback)

While I do not regularly read poetry, I received McGrath's first book "Capitalism" as a gift and have been hooked ever since. "Spring Comes to Chicago" is my favorite of his three. Mcgrath's descriptions of everyday events in the cocoon of his Chicago apartment in winter are delightful. The Bob Hope Poem provides a forum for McGrath's insightful and often amusing obsevations on everything from People magazine to Darwin to squirrels and gourmet pet food. The Pregancy Triptych is fabulous. I highly recommend this book (even to those who never read poetry).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring poetry, from one of the best american poets., May 12, 1998

By 

Josh Bank ([e-mail]) (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spring Comes To Chicago (Paperback)

I will be brief. The Bob Hope Poem made me start writing poetry again. This poem should be read by everyone with a 401K, every business school student, the entirety of Capitol Hill... well, the list is too long. Suffice it to say, this is a great American poem written to every American by a great American poet. Now back to my People magazine.