Hurdy-Gurdy

by Tim Seibles

Poetry. "From the 'sweet scat' and 'jump rope hymns' of wonder and wistfulness to the transformational, lithe, sexually charged energy of jazz, HURDY-GURDY earnestly explores the differences between what we want, what we get, and what we must be willing to pursue at any cost. This is an exciting book--at once fluid, shapely, and steady as stone--whose tensions lead us to an authentic meditative wholeness"--Mark Cox. "This is not a poetry of the highfalutin violin nor the somber cello, but a melody you heard somewhere that followed you home. Elegant and silly, irreverent, fun and funny, Tim Seibles' poetry celebrates the spirit's little moments of holy joy"--Sandra Cisneros.

Genres: Poetry

89 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1992

About the author

Tim Seibles, born in 1955, is an American poet and professor. He is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, Buffalo Head Solos (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2004). His honors include an Open Voice Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center.

His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including Callaloo, The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, Ploughshares, Electronic Poetry Review, Rattle, and in anthologies including Verse & Universe: Poems About Science and Mathematics (Milkweed Editions, 1998) and New American Poets in the 90's (David R. Godine, 1991).

Seibles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and earned his B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1977. He remained in Dallas after graduating and taught high school English for ten years. He received his M.F.A. from Vermont College in 1990. He is a professor of English and creative writing at Old Dominion University, as well as teaching in the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing and teaching workshops for Cave Canem. He lives in Norfolk, Virginia.

Reviews

[Rebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes poets can be awesome at description but never venture outside of a few familiar topics, like love or grief. Tim Seibles doesn't have this problem, not at all. His poems are always unexpected. He knows how to have fun with poetry without giving up all the gravity and beauty of the life he describes. It's an awesome reading experience to go from the elegant intimacy of "The Lamps," for example, or the quiet sadness of "Poem," to the energy of "What It Comes Down To." Seibles is definitely one of my favorite poets.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

He writes crazy hilarious poems from the perspective of Boris and Natasha (yes, as in the Bullwinkle Boris and Natasha). Holy shit!

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Reader, I love to read not to type, but I'm going to type you a taste of why I give Tim Seibles's Hurdy-Gurdy five stars.

Here are two excerpts from the fabulous poem "Trying for Fire":

I never did play pro football.
I never got to do my mad-horse,
mountain goat, happy-wolf dance
for the blaring fans in the Astro Dome.
I never snagged a one-hander over the middle
against Green Bay and stole my snaky way
down the sidelines for the game-breaking six.
. . . .

Across the street a woman is letting
her phone ring. I see her in the kitchen
stirring something on the stove. Father off
a small dog chips the quiet with his bark.
Above me the moon looks like a nickel
in a murky little creek. This
is the same moon that saw me twelve,
without a single bill to pay, zinging
soup can tops into the dark--I called them
flying saucers. This is the same
white light that touched dinosaurs, that
found the first people trying for flame.
. . . .

And, btw, Dear Reader, this reviewer is not a football-game watcher. It doesn't matter. Get your hands on the whole poem (it's easy enough).

I'm sure Seibles's more recent Selected is grand, but I think I'm going to read all of his individual books first.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I started naming poems that blew me away it would just be a list of the poems in the book. I think I am in awe of the nakedness (sometimes actual, sometimes emotional) here. Like these poems are totally showing up, how can I turn away. They are also kind, which has me wanting to be kind, and which puts a balm on the raw places we go to.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot of really interesting poems in here. Especially charming were the persona poems about Boris and Natasha from Bullwinkle.