Yellowrocket: Poems (Hardcover)

by Todd Boss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Todd Boss is going to be a poetry all-star....He can make any rhyme feel like a concealed weapon."—Sherman Alexie Increasingly, Todd Boss has been attracting attention, with poems in the Paris Review and The New Yorker and a series in Poetry. His first collection, set in the Midwest, alternately features a childhood Wisconsin farm, the record-breaking storm that destroyed it, and the turbulent marriage that recalls it. Love and wonder mingle in these lines--

from “The Hush of the Very Good”

You can tell by how he lists

to let her

kiss him, that the getting, as he gets

it,

is good.

It’s good in the sweetly salty,

deeply thirsty way that a sea-fogged

rain is good after a summer-long

bout

of inland drought.

About the Author
Todd Boss, director of external affairs at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; First Edition edition (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393067688
• ISBN-13: 978-0393067682
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #453,040 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest poetry , January 4, 2009

By	David W. Russell "D. Russell" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Todd is a great writer. Clean, honest poetry. Todd is on par with Billy Collins. You need not to interpret what he is writing about. But, it still as new unique language. I often found myself smiling at his insight. Like how he describes something innate as ice in a nearly profound way, all with-out being far out there. He is original, with-out having to cross over into experimental and strange. He is truly gifted. If you want to be moved and inspired by life's common ways read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry To Entertain, To Savor, To Share, December 14, 2008

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Using odd timing and rhythm, Boss creates intriguing feelings and images. Showing experimentation with the abrasive and bothersome (in a good way) sensations that are created by splitting a rhyme across a stanza, or using spaces to disrupt timing, Yellowrocket keeps you on your toes while it fences with you, thrusting and parrying and moving backwards and forwards and backwards again without taking its eyes off of you.

Boss shows proficiency in a variety of poetic techniques, though less so in regards to a variety of emotions. He does take you through many different feelings, but some of them he seems to have a much greater grasp of than others. However, Yellowrocket is literally engaging and keeps your interest, goading you along enough so that you wolf through the poems, hungry for more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful debut of a beautiful writer, October 30, 2008

By	Wilma Jean - See all my reviews

I've been following this guy's work in several poetry journals over the past year and have been hungering to see more of his stuff. Now I've gotten my wish. So happy to see this book come out. It's just plain good. Engaging, approachable...sensual, humorous at times, heart wrenching in a good way. What a beautiful debut collection from a beautiful writer.