Mormon Boy

by Seth Brady Tucker

Poetry. MORMON BOY by Seth Brady Tucker is one of the winners of the Elixir Press 11th Annual Poetry Awards. David Kirby has this to say about it: "A young man goes to a desert war, somehow returns with body and mind intact, and begins to write poems about his experiences. Will they be raw, brutal, all but impossible to read? Actually, no. Seth Tucker looks into the abyss, but it's a 'pretty abyss, ' as one of these poems says, because life rendered with feeling is always beautiful. Tucker embraces his subject but transcends it; a pleasure to read, these poems show poets how great poems are written.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2012

About the author

Seth Brady Tucker (S. Brady Tucker) is a poet and fiction writer originally from Lander, Wyoming. His first book (Mormon Boy, 2012) won the Elixir Press Poetry Award and was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, and his second book (We Deserve the Gods We Ask For) won the Gival Press Poetry Award, and was released in September, 2014. He has degrees in writing and literature from San Francisco State University, Northern Arizona University, and Florida State University (PhD, 2012). In a different life, he served as a paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, and was a collegiate basketball player at SFSU. Seth currently lives, writes, and teaches near the Colorado School of Mines, and at the Lighthouse Writers' Workshop in Denver. His fiction and poetry have won numerous awards, most recently the Bevel Summers Fiction Prize from Shenandoah and the Literal Latte Fiction Award, and he has been the Carol Houck Smith Scholar of Poetry at Bread Loaf, and the Tennessee Williams Scholar of Fiction at Sewanee.

Reviews

[silas denver melvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

these poems do not show poets how great poems are written

[Matt Bondurant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is study in poetic contrasts, at once raw, gritty, slapstick, hedonistic and scatological in the vein of Bukowski and Kerouac, as well as intellectual, spiritual, humanistic, and broadly expansive in the mode of Dylan Thomas or Larry Levis. There is a Whitman-esque quality to it, a sort of 21st century barbaric yawp. I especially enjoy the narrative component, as even as these poems are full of lyrical language, they most often tell a story. But perhaps the best quality is the honesty. So little pretense, cant, or posturing; Tucker puts his heart on the table and pins it there with a knife. An auspicious debut from a great young American poet.

[Dane Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

tbh thought he was gay

gulf war veteran, beautiful prose

[Steph Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't pick up poetry too often. I have some ee cummings I go back to on a regular basis, but other than that it usually feels like work to me. Not this one. Very enjoyable. Tucker has a caustic, self-deprecating sense of humor that I can totally appreciate. The title poem, Mormon Boy is a hilarious dive into the mind of a six year old paperboy. Tucker served as a paratrooper in the early 1990s when I and my friends were just a bunch of college political know-it-alls, so it was interesting to read his first collection. It had me reflecting on what an idiot I was in college and so lacking in understanding of what these folks were going through. Anyhow, it required a re-read where I checked my baggage at the door and just read. Very good. Plus, there bits that remind me of Jarmusch or Waits which I can always appreciate. There is even one entitled Wilco that I think a couple people might really enjoy. New mantra : poetry can be fun!

[Justin Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I need to be up front. Both Seth and I come from similar backgrounds. He writes about things I know about from first hand experience, and that is one of the reasons I can give this book five stars. However, my knowing some of the same things he does and recognizing myself in his poems is only the first of many reasons to love this book. Seth's immense scope immediately comes to mind. I am amazed at how far his grasp reaches in these poems, leaving no stone unturned or presented. I also love the variations Seth uses in his poetry, shifting from one form or presentation into another without the slightest hesitation or fear. If you are wondering what you might gain from reading this book, I can tell you I am in love with the way Seth tells a story, and I bet you will, too.

[Jericho · Rating 1 out of 5]

If there is any hope left for modern poetry, it isn't here. It's sad to think that someone took the time to actually write this and other people had to read it. There are people dying of easily preventable diseases all over the world and people are sitting in their homes reading this. This is the cruel irony of the world at its finest.

This was recommended to me through writers that I like but now I know that MFA programs are just filled with no-talent hacks. How does this even get published? There's not a single subtle or interesting moment in this entire book.

Hello bathroom, here's Mormon Boy for you!