Talking Dirty to the Gods: Poems

by Yusef Komunyakaa

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet-author of the critically acclaimed Thieves of Paradise explores rituals that link humans, animals, and insects in this lively, often satirical collection of poems.

Genres: Poetry, African American, Literary Fiction, Multicultural Literature

134 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Yusef Komunyakaa (born April 29, 1947) is an American poet who teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for Neon Vernacular and the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He also received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Komunyakaa received the 2007 Louisiana Writer Award for his enduring contribution to the poetry world.

His subject matter ranges from the black general experience through rural Southern life before the Civil Rights time period and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Mandy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection. I tend to like my poets to have a vagina, but this guy is really the cats meow.

[Keeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of poetry was not for me. A hodgepodge of cultural references that could be interesting, obscured beneath an obtuse style and voluminous references to sex, genitalia, etc. Supposedly, this is meant to imitate Catullus, but Catullus is writing in genres of love poetry or insult poetry, and there's no such purpose identified here for any of the poems.

[Jane Alberdeston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I'd read other books from Mr. Komunyakaa and loved every one, it took a fellow Cave Canem poet to get me inside this book. I haven't been read to in a long time. Not the way we are "read to" at poetry readings but the way it was when we were five and all the day lead up to that ariel moment, if we were lucky. What was it but the poet's voice that took me into Komunyakaa's diamond-rough stanzas? Like all things you can't explain, it was like a dream: it happened while driving and all my focus broke; I became only sight, touch, and ear: the blank strip-mall road, the wheel under my hands giving way to the sound of "Gluttony" weaving itself from one poet's mouth into my head. There's a peculiar psyche in these poems, Komunyakaa's unsettling way of uncoiling the skein of our own condition, unfolding it for our view. The book at times reminds us what little evils we do, in our thoughts, our movements, our own breathing. It helps that the poems are brief - I imagine if he told us anything else longer than a page, we'd smear and unravel like newspapers floating down apocalyptical streets.

[ben adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars is the appropriate rating for this book which is made up entirely of poems w/ four stanzas and each stanza a quatrain. At first, it seems as though the author was very limited by the constraints of this type of poem, but it starts to feel as though he is showing off. Every poem is good even though they are restricted by form. The entirety is somewhat incredible to behold, but none of the individual poems really stand out. Every one of them is excellent, but no one poem rises above the others as truly inspiring, unique, or breath-taking. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves poems that grasp language in beautiful and creative ways.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a little while to acclimatise to the rush of references in this book. Once I did, I was swept into Komunyakaa's riffling through culture, time and every human quirk we've ever imagined a god for. A wide range of tones and concerns, a heady book to return to again and again.

[izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2
some poems i enjoyed and others were just lost on me. i enjoyed the ones that existed outside of Greek mythology the most!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on the recommendation of my boyfriend, who raved about Yusef Komunyakaa's poetry. At first, I didn't understand the hype. Each poem is written in four quatrains, and the form and rhythm seemed very rigid to me.

As I forged on, though, I developed an appreciation for Komunyakaa's style in this volume. At first it put me somewhat off-balance, but his blending of themes works well with that sort of dizzy reading.

Almost every poem relates a myth to modern times. Komunyakaa pulls on the religions and folklore of many different cultures to create gods and humans that are very fresh, new and flawed. In other poems, he references myth when describing modern characters.

The title is apt, as this book is at times raunchy. Komunyakaa delves into the very human and basic of impulses and bodily functions, and it's wonderful. This is a consistent, interesting and odd volume of poetry. And I can't wait to read something else by the poet.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this collection, I feel I definitely need to go back and brush up on the history and myth of Greek, Roman, and other pagan gods. There were a number of poems I think I could understand better if I knew more about the gods the poems were referring to, comprehending more of the language, the images. I don't read with a dictionary or guide at hand, so I think I should read this again sometime. That being said, I rate it 3 stars only because of my own failings. Of the poems that I understood, I really enjoyed them. I could probably give this a 4 if a second read, more educated read, proved profitable.

[Emmeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times clever and punchy, at others heavily referential and consciously populist. Some poems were a delight to read. Yet the repetition of four quatrains 132 times over becomes as wearying as it is visually pleasing. You might facilitate your journey through this book by brushing up on mythology (and classical literature, and world history, pop culture, astronomy, etc.) beforehand. I love Komunyakaa, and still found myself ingesting "Talking Dirty" in small doses.

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually in reference to a poem in the upcoming collection, War Horses, but believe me, to write about someone like this, I did a ton of research.

http://www.fsgpoetry.com/fsg/2008/04/...

[Jonathan Tennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

Favorites are as follows: Night Ritual, Lime, Scapegoat, The Citadel, Toxic Waste, Postscript to a Summer Night, Yesteryear, and Ode to the Raccoon.

Will read it again one day and would recommend to others interested in Komunyakaa's work.

[Nice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Komunyakaa is one of my favorite contempary poets. This book of poems is an excellent showcase of his skill.

[Sebastian Paz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As some other reviewers have mentioned, this collection is HIGHLY referential, and if you aren't up on your mythology, you may get a little lost from time to time. That's the only reason I didn't rate it higher, but I suspect that if I had such a background, these poems would come to life even more. That being said, the words and images positively crackle even without a full understanding of the many allusions. I found myself rereading some of these poems several times, savoring the imagery and the phonetic combinations Komunyakaa brings to bear with a masterful hand. A strong current of mischief and wit animates each of these poems as well. Personal favorites: Monkey Wrench, Venus of Willendorf, Ode to the Maggot.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a breezy and lurid read. I've never read raunchy poetry before.

It also led to my favorite library experience ever. I'm rushing out of the office to get to the library before it closes...

Im getting checked out, and I have the 90-year old teller. She's scanning my book, and peels off the library circulation and says "You always get interesting things...
What's this? Ooh, it's a penis!"

Regardless; these are moistly modernizing myths. Often into a more sexually explicit nature. Some of my favorites are Night Ritual, Lime, Ode to Maggots, Nipples and the Four Evangelists.

[Janée Baugher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The seven deadly sins are examined in 132 quatrain poems, which won the Pulitzer in 1994. Very few images and concrete language. Persona poems. Non-sequitur/associative. Whimsical poems with punch-lines. How is the title functioning as it relates to the contents? Would the average person have appreciated the theme without the introduction naming it? How is form following function in this collection?

[Anthony Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

How immensely I enjoy these poems. My kind of poetry.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vainglory

[Emily Shearer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection was untenable to me. The exact same format, page after page after page, no turns of brilliant phrase. No revelation in metaphor or aha moments. Bluh.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

these poems were as horny as the original greek myths

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for The Seven Deadly Sins
By Yusef Komunyakaa

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some electric, beautiful poems, but could probably be condensed without losing any of its power. Some of the other reviews have mentioned this, but the form he's invented for the collection eventually makes it a little hard to keep ploughing forward through the 132 poems.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to like about dirty talk. Although that was the main focus throughout this collection. There was more to it. Seven deadly sins. Ode to dust. Komunyakaa is a God for poetry.

Utetheisa Ornatrix
Night Ritual
Lime
Ode To Maggots
Slime Molds
Nipples
Scapegoat
Spirit Traps
Chasity Belt
Meditation in the Swine Yard
Bedazzled ★★★★★
The Citadel
Nightfall
The Four Evangelists
Acalophiles
Silkworm

Okay I'll stop naming titles but the whole book is worth a read more than once. I will be checking out more from Yusef Komunyakaa.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems modern life, sex, sexuality, the gods, and mythology.

from Sex Toys: "Lined up like toy soldiers / In the attitude of pillage, / They're filled with nothing but ohs / & ahs."

fr0m Castrato: "This: hymns die on my tongue / Before they can heal. / Smooth as my sister's baby doll / down there, I don't know how I feel // or need."

from Rave: "Well, I listen to it because / I can't stumble into bliss, / Can't kill myself with sugar."

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was introduced to this poet and sasha feinstein through a class taken by my ex-fiance. the author has at least as good a feel for rhythm as feinstein but his poems are charged with energy and testosterone...something i enjoy, but have to be in the mood for.

[Stacy McCullough. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poems alone are great, but as a book it is too much. Komunyakaa obviously was trying to add something new by thinking everything out into four stanzas of four lines, making the poems look quite boxy. But one hundred-some pages of it was too much repetition for me.

[Tyler Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been meaning to read some of Komunyakaa's work for some time now, finally picked this up...I don't like every poem, but there are definitely some amazing lines that make my skin tingle they are so good.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it's possible for a book of poetry to be stuffy, then this book is stuffy.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://rantsravesreviews.homestead.co...

[adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite poems: Crow Lingo and Philosophers, Inc.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of his--I didn't feel the passion, man.