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Punchline
Poetry. "With its one-two of exuberant wit and vigorous philosophical inquiry, Nick Courtright's PUNCHLINE is nothing short of a knockout."—Timothy Donnelly
"Between the infinity of the universe and the futility of small matters, along with the prophet and the fatalist, PUNCHLINE travels. It's a tightrope performance Nick Courtright is embarking on here, knowing full well that these necessary turns to the large abstractions of 'enlightenment' and the 'apse of consciousness' are hanging threadbare above us, and at any moment all our understanding could be 'revised by pamphlets fallen / from the sky, or by Adobe Photoshop.' These are fundamental, open questions, and they anchor a wonderful book."—John Gallaher
"By turns elliptical and aphoristic, macrocosmic and microcosmic, timeless and contemporary, PUNCHLINE is not a book of poems for those who merely want to be diverted or amused; this work is for readers who consider poetry the natural sibling of philosophy. Nick Courtright's finely-distilled poems mine the frustrating unknowableness of the world, and celebrate its exhilarating mystery with elegance, compassion, and imagination."—Nicky Beer
"Between the infinity of the universe and the futility of small matters, along with the prophet and the fatalist, PUNCHLINE travels. It's a tightrope performance Nick Courtright is embarking on here, knowing full well that these necessary turns to the large abstractions of 'enlightenment' and the 'apse of consciousness' are hanging threadbare above us, and at any moment all our understanding could be 'revised by pamphlets fallen / from the sky, or by Adobe Photoshop.' These are fundamental, open questions, and they anchor a wonderful book."—John Gallaher
"By turns elliptical and aphoristic, macrocosmic and microcosmic, timeless and contemporary, PUNCHLINE is not a book of poems for those who merely want to be diverted or amused; this work is for readers who consider poetry the natural sibling of philosophy. Nick Courtright's finely-distilled poems mine the frustrating unknowableness of the world, and celebrate its exhilarating mystery with elegance, compassion, and imagination."—Nicky Beer
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2012
78 people want to read
About the author
Nick Courtright
6 books73 followersNick Courtright is the author of The Forgotten World (2021), Let There Be Light (2014) and Punchline (2012), and is the Executive Editor of Atmosphere Press. His work has appeared in The Harvard Review, Kenyon Review, and The Southern Review, among dozens of others. With a Doctorate in Literature from the University of Texas, Nick lives in Austin with the poet Lisa Mottolo and their children, William and Samuel. Find him at atmospherepress.com, nickcourtright.com, and watching birds on his porch.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 18, 2012
Won this Book on Goodreads first-reads. I´m so glad i got this book, the collection of poems are incredible and I really enjoyed it a lot.
October 18, 2012
So I've been reading and rereading this collection of poems for months, waiting to mark my copy up and give this the big-shebang write-up, but I can't stave it off any longer.
If you like one or more of the following, you should read this collection immediately: love, mystical visions, Rumi, spring-fed rivers, music, air, laughter, ontological brain tangles, acorns, dirt bikes, the smell of grass, the world seen in a grain of sand, snow cones, Zen koans, or joy. His book deals with most but not all of those. Or, if it deals with dirt bikes and snow cones it does so only obliquely.
Courtright stares unblinkingly into the void and comes back with jokes and riddles, with a reminder to "be careful not to get carried away," to "slow down,/ little everything." He knows that the important part is the question, not the answer, especially as he's pretty certain that the answers aren't forthcoming. He has seen the world in a grain of sand and come back to tease out the implications of all those worlds strung about all those beaches. He knows that "All the world is a sad place if you say so" but also that the converse might be true. With most things here, the converse might be true (our fates are determined or not, we matter or don't, the despot's running the show unless he isn't), but Courtright revels in rather than runs from that ambiguity. To let him say it:
As we crawl through our tunnels and weep
it's just a mystery
we should at least have fun with it
There's more to say here, and maybe someday I'll say it. Just in case I do, you should go read these poems so you can join in the discussion.
If you like one or more of the following, you should read this collection immediately: love, mystical visions, Rumi, spring-fed rivers, music, air, laughter, ontological brain tangles, acorns, dirt bikes, the smell of grass, the world seen in a grain of sand, snow cones, Zen koans, or joy. His book deals with most but not all of those. Or, if it deals with dirt bikes and snow cones it does so only obliquely.
Courtright stares unblinkingly into the void and comes back with jokes and riddles, with a reminder to "be careful not to get carried away," to "slow down,/ little everything." He knows that the important part is the question, not the answer, especially as he's pretty certain that the answers aren't forthcoming. He has seen the world in a grain of sand and come back to tease out the implications of all those worlds strung about all those beaches. He knows that "All the world is a sad place if you say so" but also that the converse might be true. With most things here, the converse might be true (our fates are determined or not, we matter or don't, the despot's running the show unless he isn't), but Courtright revels in rather than runs from that ambiguity. To let him say it:
As we crawl through our tunnels and weep
it's just a mystery
we should at least have fun with it
There's more to say here, and maybe someday I'll say it. Just in case I do, you should go read these poems so you can join in the discussion.
February 26, 2015
These poems seem sincere and insightful.
June 3, 2012
This is an impressive collection--both in terms of the very careful craft of the poems and in terms of the weighty content of the ideas. These are no poems about peeling potatoes: Courtright tackles ambitious subject matter, from philosophy to science to the meaning we can make of human emotion, and he always comes to satisfactory endings. (This is something I find SO hard to do once I broach philosophical questioning). In terms of craft, Courtright relies mostly on lyric and elliptical poems with only the slightest hint at narrative sometimes, and he does so masterfully. The poems feel carefully wrought--nothing extraneous, nothing missing--and the line breaks and forms the poems took always felt tremendously satisfying. My favorite poem in the collection (though many are VERY good) is the title poem "Punchline." This was the most thought provoking and emotionally resonant piece for me personally. A talented poet.
March 6, 2012
Punchline is one the strongest collections I've seen by a young poet. It doesn't contain observational trivia or odes to passing emotions. Nick takes on the big questions of life and existence, and the insights he shares are always profound yet often funny. Punchline is an easy read; you will never feel like you are slogging through dense philosophical ruminations. I think that is the magic of this book-- it tackles weighty subjects with wit, empathy and a lyricism that never feels overwrought.
But above all, Punchline is deeply poetic. It contains beautiful insights about existence and the human condition without resorting to sentimentality or self-importance. A great collection for anyone who cares about life and meaning.
But above all, Punchline is deeply poetic. It contains beautiful insights about existence and the human condition without resorting to sentimentality or self-importance. A great collection for anyone who cares about life and meaning.
September 29, 2012
Nick's the best professor in the world, and my favorite poet.
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November 29, 2012Read our review by Kristina Marie Darling at http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews