Half Angel, Half Lunch

by Sharon Mesmer

Poetry. "Sharon Mesmer's poetry is a stream of indomitable spunk, it's tough and lush, polysyllabic and right off the streets of Chicago and New York. She creates a fabulous tissue of language which floats out to inhabit other bodies, opens their mouths and makes them speak. This book is funny and reflects a new kind of poetry consciousness"-- Alice Notley. "Her first full collection of poetry is a lively readable volume, always interesting, beautifully bold and vivaciously modern"-- Allen Ginsberg.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 1998

About the author

Sharon Mesmer is an American writer. Born in the windy city, she moved to New York City in 1988 and has since made the East Coast of the United States her home.

Mesmer is considered to be a member of the Flarf poetry movement.

From 2003-2006 her column, “Seasonal Affect,” appeared in the French fashion magazine Purple; currently her music and book reviews can be found in The Brooklyn Rail.

Her awards include a 2010 Fulbright Specialist grant, a 2009 Jerome Foundation/SASE grant (as co-recipient/mentor, with poet Elisabeth Workman, grantee), two New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships (2007 and 1999), and the 1990 MacArthur Scholarship given through the Brooklyn College MFA poetry program by nomination of Allen Ginsberg.

She also teaches creative writing at New York University and the New School.

Reviews

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This early Mesmer collection confirms what I already suspected: that SM sprang fully formed from the head of Zeus, charged with illuminating those hard-to-reach cracks in the everyday Berrigan and Ginsberg missed. Her work has the pop appeal and sheer entertainment value that “spoken word” aspires to, but joins it to sophisticated micro narratives of class, gender, sex and power with an attention to language that needs the page to be savored. A pinball machine in convenient book form.

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, sardonic poems from this incurable smartass poet. Sharon makes me laugh out loud, and she does so while baring her heart. How she can go to these places, unflinching, and bring back so much is beyond me. What vulnerability and toughness can do when combined with great chops and an unerring sense of timing? This.