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Hostile
Poetry. Asian American Studies. "Heather Nagami's first book of poetry, HOSTILE, is written as though literature, and perhaps language, must begin again. It finds its way as it goes, as it finds out what poetry can be. That it does so with grace, power, and amazing courage, is obvious with every word encountered, every step around the parameters of what is possible"--Charles Alexander. "Hardly ever has found language, appropriated discourse, sounded more closely attuned to what Ms. Niedecker once referred to as the 'condensery' of poetry--not Reznikoff's TESTIMONY, nor the early novels of Kathy Acker. Nagami is listening for all the elements in the language. What strikes me as a reader is the degree to which these texts remain true to their source materials while demonstrating a total commitment to the traditional effects of poetry--concision, a foregrounding of the formal elements of poetry, even a goofball elegance that has much to do with the New York School's commitment to wit. What a g
- GenresPoetry
90 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2011
Heather Nagami gave a wonderful reading at the Tucson Festival of Books on Saturday, March 12, 2011. I know when I have been to a good reading because I am inspired to work on my own poetry afterward.
Not all of the sections equally engaged me in Hostile: "The Agenda," which deals with Tucson politics, did not resonate with me in the same way that other sections did, such as "Dear Scully," or "In the Awake and Asleep State."
I especially enjoyed the way that Nagami plays with white space, and traditional syntax and semantics. These poems seem like something e.e. Cummings would have written, if he were a female living in the 21st century; though Nagami's poems have an edge to them that Cummings' poems lacked, and her poems often seem more socially and politically aware.
My favorite poems include "was because of,"Something Beautiful," and "Ode to OCD."
Not all of the sections equally engaged me in Hostile: "The Agenda," which deals with Tucson politics, did not resonate with me in the same way that other sections did, such as "Dear Scully," or "In the Awake and Asleep State."
I especially enjoyed the way that Nagami plays with white space, and traditional syntax and semantics. These poems seem like something e.e. Cummings would have written, if he were a female living in the 21st century; though Nagami's poems have an edge to them that Cummings' poems lacked, and her poems often seem more socially and politically aware.
My favorite poems include "was because of,"Something Beautiful," and "Ode to OCD."
September 13, 2007
looking forward to future pubs!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews