Picnic on the Moon (Paperback)

by Charles Coe (Author) "Bossman pulled me to the side of the road..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Deep, wise and beautiful ... Charles Coe gives poetry readers many fine examples of an old, worthy craft. A volume for the permanent shelf!" -- Small Press Review, May-June, 1999

Product Description
Known for his powerful readings and unusually warm and compassionate voice, Charles Coe's poems speak to the heart and mind as well as the ear. Combining subjects as diverse as Afro-American history, myth, jazz, and family as well as surprising observations of those unexpected moments of joy to be found in a work-a-day inner city life, Coe offers us poems as personal as the tale of a sister who opened his life to literature and closed her own with dope; as quietly momentous as the story of Rosa Parks. Here are poems for Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Mingus alongside a haunting homage to the 'guests' of a battered women's shelter. Above all, Coe's poems touch upon what is essential in us all and speak of life as a gift that is far from perfect but all we have.

Charles Coe is the winner of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Poetry Fellowship. A jazz and popular vocalist, he was born in Indianapolis, lives in the Boston area and travels widely to perform and record his work.

Get on Up!

Can anybody else here say that
in the summer of 1967,
when they were fourteen years old,
their mama took them to a James Brown concert?
Did you walk alongside her
Through the gates of
A minor-league ballpark
On a hot, cloudless Indiana night
When the moon shone like a spotlight
On the rough wooden stage?
Was anybody else here sittin' beside their mama
On those hard benches
When James's band, the Famous Flames
Came out to lay down
A red carpet of funk
And the announcer whipped that crowd
Like a bowl of black cream
'til the Godfather of Soul finally skated onstage
like a waterbug,
tellin; everybody 'bout his brand-new bag?
If your mama yelled like everybody else,
Then let it now be told!
Let everybody know how
She clapped her hands raw
As James flew back and forth across the stage,
Sweat and grease from his conked-up hair
Pouring down the front of his ruffled shirt,
Purple satin jacket ripped off and tossed aside.
Let everybody know how she stomped her feet
When he grabbed that mike like a dog grabs a bone,
Fell to one knee,
And begged for: "just one more chance,
Baby, baby please,"
And then when he fin

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Product Details

• Paperback: 82 pages
• Publisher: Leapfrog Press (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965457826
• ISBN-13: 978-0965457828
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,486,254 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 Wry, observant, and wise., April 25, 1999

By A Customer

Coe's poems show how strawberries, barefeet, wind, barbecure or the blues can wipe out for a while the grimmer realities of modern life. In that way, even the longer poems feel like haikus: they set up a scene such as guys pulling down a slate roof or a crazy bothering you on the bus, and then wipe it out with humor or sensuous pleasure or music or an understanding that a person can change and grow. Coe's musical background gives rhythm to his poems about Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown or Charlie Mingus. And his two poems on women in the process of freeing themselves from oppressive relationships are remarkable -- and touching.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coe's imagery and tempo reach out and touch you., April 22, 1999

By A Customer

I heard Charles Coe read a few of his poems last night in Cambridge, MA. He captures the essence of daily life. The imagery of New England is especially powerful if you are far from home or just rejoicing in what life has to offer. If you crossed Marge Piercy and Robert Frost and were listening to Ella Fitgerald you might approach the experience that is Charles Coe. Pure joie de vivre!!!! Go eat some up yourself!!!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich and Vibrant, April 23, 2003

By	Nila J. Webster (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Picnic on the Moon is a rich and vibrant collection of poetry. The voice of the poet resonates within the consciousness of the reader; images of loss and hope continue to shimmer quietly long after the poems are read. The title poem transports us away from "the earthly roar and rubble": away from violence, poverty, and exploitation, to another landscape where children "romped beneath a blue-green earth / that glittered like a fragile and precious jewel." And yet even as we must leave the serenity of the picnic on the moon, with all its beauty and all its peace, the poet offers these words:

Don't be sad when we climb into the shuttle
for the trip home.
For we each carry back
a cool and quiet place within ourselves.

The poems in this collection bring the reader to this "cool and quiet place", and in giving voice to the darknesses of life, the poet also lights the way to hope. Picnic on the Moon is a beautiful work and a meaningful companion for life's journey.