The Visible Man: Poems

by Henri Cole

"To write what is human, not escapist," is Henri Cole's endeavor. In The Visible Man he pursues his aim by folding autobiography and memory into the thirty severe and fiercely truthful lyrics--poems presenting a constant tension between classical repose and the friction of life--that make up this exuberant book. This work, wrote Harold Bloom, "persuades me that Cole will be a central poet of his generation. The tradition of Wallace Stevens and Hart Crane is beautifully extended in The Visible Man , particularly in the magnificent sequence 'Apollo.' Keats and Hart Crane are presences here, and Henri Cole invokes them with true aesthetic dignity, which is the mark of nearly every poem in The Visible Man ."

Genres: Poetry, Literary Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 1998

About the author

Henri Cole was born in Fukuoka, Japan and raised in Virginia. He has published many collections of poetry and received numerous awards for his work, including the Jackson Poetry Prize, the Kingsley Tufts Award, the Rome Prize, the Berlin Prize, the Ambassador Book Award, the Lenore Marshall Award, and the Medal in Poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His most recent books are Orphic Paris, a memoir (New York Review Books), and Gravity and Center: Selected Sonnets, 1994-2022 (Farrar, Straus, Giroux). From 2010 to 2014, he was poetry editor of The New Republic. He teaches at Claremont McKenna College and lives in Boston.

Reviews

[Jay]

Every page of this book contains a new heartbreak. The speaker is capable of expressing with such novelty and precision the challenges he faces when trying to form lasting romantic attachments, but his lyric abilities do nothing to address the underlying problems. I hope that, if these poems represent even the shadow of the real Henri Cole circa 1998, he is doing better now.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pacing and Rhythm The pacing of the story is moderate, neither too fast nor too slow. It gives the reader enough time to process the information before moving on to the next section. There is a clear sense of progression as the chapters unfold. To see the estimated reading time for each section, click here. >>> https://script.google.com/macros/s/AK...

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the most intense poetry I've ever read—this is a collection full of shame and grief; religion and sexuality. It's beautifully written (a masterclass in form), but I was left waiting for the self-destructive ruminations to find a kind of resolution. I suppose that isn't always reality. Favorites included White Spine, Black Mane, and Bearded Irises. Thanks to Meron for the recommendation!

[Adriel Algiene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection of poems by Henri Cole. Beautiful, disarming, and utterly honest.

[Yooperprof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best queer poetry I've ever read.

[Cooch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent poetry

This is adventurous and challenging poetry, though probably not for the faint hearted. This is the strongest volume by Cole that I have read.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books of poetry I've ever liked. Henri Cole is good at mixing self-loathing with the worship of his oppressors and the desire for escape in a way that's both self-destructive and honest. I think I like it least when it seems most self-consciously poetic, which is to say the moments in the sonnet where you have to remember "oh, right, it's a sonnet", to really understand why he suddenly rhymes, or why the last two lines are so disconnected with the rest.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elegant and edgy. One of the most honest voices in contemporary poetry.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What hearty stuff. His "soul-animal prefers the choke-chain." yow. The gift is that these are strong and yet incredibly tender.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that Cole can use the word "scrotum" in multiple poems and it feels called-for and beautiful.

[Mills College Library]

Coll.