Welcome to Litsy!

I love the combination of melancholy and dark humor in this collection, which covers a wide array of topics. Some memorable poems for me dealt with relationships issues, language play, class struggles, and environmental destruction.

Turns out, my last-minute papers aren‘t actually half-assed; they‘re simply fully developed in my head before they make it to the word doc and just need to be arranged.

Yeah, I definitely edited this essay after handing it in, because I‘m THAT geek. 🙄🤓😐

Professor overheard me telling a friend in class that “I was late because I couldn‘t put the fucking book down,” and said it was the best excuse he‘d ever heard. #poetrychallenge2018

Tfw you share a poem with someone and they quote the very line that made you displace your cat from your lap so you could retrieve a highlighter 😍 #poetrychallenge2018

“ A forty-year-old man stares at a wetsuit on the rack:
Is it too late in life to dress up like a seal and surf?” 🏄🏻 🌊 #poetrychallenge2018

I knew the possibility that I was balancing my workload really well was too good to be true: cover to cover read of this one tonight for tomorrow‘s class!

Tony Hoagland‘s unique vision of the world is on full display in this book, humorous, wry, sometimes confused, sometimes angry. I admit to finding his last two collections a little off the mark, but this one seems a return to form. Sharp poems that stir the mind and soul. Highly recommended.

And another one...

"In some parts of town it was said
you could buy a human kidney, or a heart.
Life was still life, after all:
it was stuffed full of interesting things."

Life at the bookstore is slow on this holiday morning, so I'm settled in with these thought-provoking poems.

This is one of my favorite poetry volumes of all time. Gut wrenching, beautiful, and poignant, these lines will make you THINK. Tony is also one of the nicest poets I've ever met and has such a kind and thoughtful soul. Love love love this book.