DROWNED RIVER PA (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lux (Half Promised Land) promises epiphanies here, but his leaden in sights never budge beyond the pedes trian. Attracted to a number of grim or macabre subjects--the Confederate Army's Andersonville prison, an ex hibit of torture instruments, the pro curement of corpses for medical schools--the poet makes pronounce ments that are stale ("It seems most times men did this or that, / so terrible to him or her, / it was because God willed it so. / Or, at least, they thought He did") or silly ("Haitian cadavers / are best for what cadavers do best: lie still"). Elsewhere he focuses on domes ticity, describing the days surround ing the birth of his daughter, a man shoveling his driveway during a snow storm, driving to work. Throughout, however, his propensity for repetition and reiteration deflates the impact of his observations.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Give Lux credit for avoiding, in his fifth collection, the bland reminiscences and limp meditations that enervate too much current poetry. He chooses instead to exploit the ironic, the harsh, the grotesque. His titles ("Haitian Cadavers," "Traveling Exhibit of Torture Instruments") let you know right off that the poems that follow will not fill you with cuddly thoughts. A winter river is a "cold cold piece of meat," and a buffet might include "Hummingbird/ tongues, each pierced by a silver toothpick." Though Lux's points may sometimes be less disturbing than they are obvious, his vision of the world is bleak and ornate at the same time, and his use of formal prosody actually enhances the weirdness. How comforting to see a poet take a chance on discomfiture.
- Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First trade paperback edition. edition (January 23, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395517540
• ISBN-13: 978-0395517543
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,856,160 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 A RELOOK AT THE ORDINARY, November 15, 2000

By	Bonita L. Davis (Decatur, Georgia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Drowned River (Paperback)

I must confess that I am not a poetry person and in all honesty had not heard of the author. The enthusiasm of one of his fans lead me to search out books by him. The Drowned River was the book I found and never again will I neglect poetry.

You (as well as I) will be impressed with how the author takes ordinary things we see and experience in life and turns them into profound reflections. The ordinary is transformed into the extra-ordinary. His use of words calls us to attention of the familiar and demands that we move beyond the surface of what we see.

Shoveling snow, seedy motels, swingsets, donuts and shoveling snow are the varied themes covered in this volume. What in the world do these common place things have in common? Certainly they can't hold any meaning. Think so? Thomas Lux will put you to the challenge. He is serious, playful, introspective and playful in poking fun at human foilbles. Come along the poetic journey with him in the drowned river.