The Charm (Paperback)

by Kathy Fagan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Fagan's poetry is stealthy, inventive, and wonderful.... She is writing some of the wisest and alluring poems of our day." -- Beckian Fritz Goldberg

"The Charm dissolves the leaden circles in the air and charms with fresh carols." -- Edward Hirsch

Kathy Fagan's rage is subtle, her love draws you in....Strange, entertaining, and touching by turns.... -- Bob Hicok

Product Description
The Charm, simply put, is a graceful and accomplished book of poetry. Heir to William Blake's legacy - for its pithy, unusual and deadly precise lyrics - the poems mark a maturing in an already terrific poet's oeuvre. And like much of Blake's poetry, these poems are inviting, deceptively disarming and reward readers' closer inspections, as they become bigger, more complex, and more beautiful. Classic is the word that comes to mind when considering this book - a book by which we judge other books, a book writers consult to discover the craft of poetry, a book for generations.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: Zoo Press; 1 edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970817746
• ISBN-13: 978-0970817747
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,690,672 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry that is Musical and Refined without being Arch, September 23, 2003

By	Scott R. Hightower (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A terrific book of terrific poems! The artful choice and use of the images serve the soft burn of the poet's keeness. Fagan's images are original and authentic. Her poems are musical, refined, and highly sophisticated without being arch. Her vision exuberantly served up with big heaps of clarity. For Fagan, rather than art dull us, it actually serves to take us beyond our schematta of routine... (routine too often inures us to the real valence of our lives). Blake and Virgil keep me keen. Kathy Fagan and Erin Belieu are two more of my all time favorite authors to read! They too are smart. Their poems ranging from good hearted mischief to profound praise. Blake, Virgil, Belieu, and Fagan. Leave it to this poet to take our wakefulness, pick it up, dust it off, and have it resonating again with wonder!

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars college student's review, March 21, 2006

By	dziambam (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Kathy Fagan's The Charm, is much more materialistic, giving every day objects magic and assigning them to meanings they would not typically have. The magical-realism of simplicity in life seems to be the blueprint for Fagan's poetry. She uses every day objects and pop culture references, to make her meaning fantastical but still very accessible to the reader. Fagan has a very personal tone to her pieces, and some poems go off on small (usually humorous) tangents. However steam of conscious, Fagan uses spacing and punctuation to break up the poem and have it read at the speed and style suiting the particular piece. The poem "Great Poets Steal" deals with the face that imagery is out there for all, and if two poets stumble across the same image and idea, they will each attempt to incorporate it into their work first. It was amusing as it is true to life and presented with a unique twist. Her lists of Haiku's near the end work together, and are further examples of her integration of modern society with an old form of poem.