Walk on the Wild Side: Urban American Poetry since 1975 [Hardcover]

Nicholas Christopher (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1994

"Walk on the Wild Side", the first anthology to plumb the maze of American urban life, gives us the city in all its forms: ethnic, economic, religious, political, sexual, intellectual. Poet and novelist Nicholas Christopher has chosen 115 poems from sixty poets, representing more than twenty cities. These are not just poems "about" cities, or with the city as subject; they filter and radiate the diversity and vitality of today's cities, from the electric night of New York to the sun-blanked sprawl of Los Angeles, from the factories of Pittsburgh to the waterfront of New Orleans. A kinetic mix of new voices and established writers, "Walk on the Wild Side" presents the timeless themes of poetry through the prism of our unique urban experience.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In his attempt to showcase his own American "postwar" generation, editor/poet Christopher has given us yet another subcategory anthology--this time, urban poetry written after 1975. While there is much of interest here, the book's unifying theme tends to subordinate the poems to their milieu--one feels that Diane Ackerman's poems have been included for Pittsburgh, Philip Levine's for Detroit, etc. Ultimately, the effect is of a rather seedy travelog that emphasizes New York City but tries to give equal time to the other locales. And one could complain about certain poets who milk the urban for its shock value; indeed, the title itself is an irritating cliche. But here also is the hard-to-find work of such promising younger poets as Elaine Equi, who writes about New York: "There was one opera/ in the air/ and a different one/ on the air/ and that impressed me." For anthology lovers.
- Ellen Kaufman, Dewey Ballantine Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Lines Writen In A Pittsburgh Skyscraper by Diane Ackerman
Rumored Conversation With Oneself Continues In Pittsburgh by Diane Ackerman
The Good Shepherd: Atlanta, 1981 by Florence Anthony
The Man With The Saxophone by Florence Anthony
The Suicide by Kathleen De Azevedo
Doing Time In Baltimore by Judith Baumel
Thumbs Up by Judith Baumel
The Last Passenger Pigeon In The Cincinnati Zoo by Lucie Brock-broido
Composed Near The Bay Bridge (after A Wild Party) by Marilyn Mei Ling Chin
Song Of The Sad Guitar by Marilyn Mei Ling Chin
50 by Nicholas Christopher
After Hours by Nicholas Christopher
April In New York by Nicholas Christopher
Amaranth And Moly by Amy Clampitt
#2, Shoes by Elizabeth Krajeck Cohen
Drive-by Shooting by Elizabeth Krajeck Cohen
In The Fire Lane by Thulani Davis
Connie Deanovich by Connie Deanovich
National Assessment by Connie Deanovich
Road Block: Sante Fe, New Mexico by Connie Deanovich
The Argument Resumed; Or Up Through Tribeca by Thomas M. Disch
In Praise Of New York by Thomas M. Disch
Broadway by Mark Doty
Harbor Lights by Mark Doty
A Hill Of Beans by Rita Dove
The Satisfaction Coal Company by Rita Dove
Romare Bearden Retrospective At The Brooklyn Museum by Cornelius Robert Eady
Brooklyn Bound by Barbara Elovic
Desire by Lynn Emanuel
Discovering The Photograph Of Lloyd, Earl, And Priscilla by Lynn Emanuel
The Sleeping by Lynn Emanuel
Breakfast With Jerome by Elaine Equi
Ode To Chicago by Elaine Equi
Words Read By Lightning by Elaine Equi
Latin Night At The Pawnshop by Martin Espada
Tony Went To The Bodega But He Didn't Buy Anything by Martin Espada
My Diamond Stud by Alice Fulton
Risk Management by Alice Fulton
The Wreckage Entrepreneur by Alice Fulton
Travelogue by Amy Gerstler
Air-conditioned Air by Debora Greger
Piranesi In L.a. by Debora Greger
Lies And Longing by Linda Gregg
The Shopping-bag Lady by Linda Gregg
Latin Music In New York by Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn
Natural Death by Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn
Solea by Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn
For The New World by Edward Hirsch
Man On A Fire Escape by Edward Hirsch
When Skyscrapers Were Invented In Chicago by Edward Hirsch
The Underworld by Garrett Kaoru Hongo
Yellow Light by Garrett Kaoru Hongo
Among The Missing by Richard Howard
Fiat Lux by Lynda Hull
The Time #2 by Esther Iverem
The Homing Instinct by Mark Jarman
Los Angeles by Mark Jarman
Christmas, Boston 1989 by Patricia Spears Jones
Day Of The Dead by Patricia Spears Jones
Prayer by Patricia Spears Jones
Progress Alley by Rodney Jones
Romance Of The Poor by Rodney Jones
Do What You Can by Lawrence Joseph
Sand Nigger by Lawrence Joseph
There I Am Again by Lawrence Joseph
The Consequences Of Waking by Vickie Karp
Still-life In The Coat Factory Office by Vickie Karp
A Taxi To The Flame by Vickie Karp
Ambulance by Karl Kirchwey
Natural History by Karl Kirchwey
Rogue Hydrant, August by Karl Kirchwey
East Of The Library, Across From The Odd Fellows Building by August Kleinzahler
San Francisco/new York by August Kleinzahler
The Cage Walker by Yusef Komunyakaa
Crack by Yusef Komunyakaa
'everybody's Reading Li Po' Silkscreened On A Purple T-shirt by Yusef Komunyakaa
Arrival At Kennedy by David Lehman
The Moment Of Truth by David Lehman
Buying And Selling by Philip Levine
Coming Home, Detroit, 1968 by Philip Levine
An Ordinary Morning by Philip Levine
Fuego by Dionisio D. Martinez
A Necessary Story by Dionisio D. Martinez
Nightscape by Donna Masini
Honolulu by Robert Mazzocco
Muertes by Robert Mazzocco
Pbs by Robert Mazzocco
A Story by Susan Mitchell
64 Panoramic Way by Carol Moldaw
Field Trip by Carol Anne Muske
Little L. A. Villanelle by Carol Anne Muske
Poema Del City by Ron Padgett
Poema Del City 2 by Ron Padgett
With Lee Remick At Midnight by Ron Padgett
Buffalo by Molly Peacock
Animal Mimicry by Robert Polito
The Rebirth Of Venus by Mary Jo Salter
For That Day Only; New York, June 11, 1883 by Grace Schulman
The Return by Laurie Sheck
White Noise by Laurie Sheck
Prayer by Jason Shinder
Good Friday. Driving Westward by Elizabeth Spires
The Woman On The Dump by Elizabeth Spires
The Avenues by David St. John
Uptown Love Poem by David St. John
Line by Cole Swensen
Our Town by Cole Swensen
What The City Was Like by James Tate
Last Night In Elvisville by Lydia Tomkiw
New York Love Song (part 1 - Lower East Side) by Lydia Tomkiw
'c'est Plus Qu'un Crime, C'est Une Faute' by David Trinidad
Hockney: Blue Pool by David Trinidad
Return To Seattle: Bastille Day by Carolyne Wright
New York Map Company (1) by John Yau
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Scribners; 1st edition. edition (May 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684196239
• ISBN-13: 978-0684196237
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,520,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)