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Strange Light
Derrick Brown's fourth and final collection of poetry and short stories is a unrelenting machine of honesty that has been called his finest collection of new work. Strange Light takes us back to the docks, to a violent drama class and boring prom, an undersea conversation with Jacques Cousteau, and into his famous romantic bursts of verse. The epic poem, Strange Light, anchors this collection as one of the most inventive and potent collections of modern American poetry. About.com called his 2009 collection Scandalabra, one of the best books of the year. Everything hilarious and stirring is illuminated. The power of Strange Light is waiting.
- GenresPoetry
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2012
3 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Derrick Brown
47 books88 followersDerrick Brown, former paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne, gondolier, magician, and fired weatherman, now travels the world and performs his written work. From Long Beach, CA, he is dedicated to bringing American poetry into rock and roll status.
As a poet, he has toured or performed with Indie rock act, Cold War Kids, The Decemberists, Comedian David Cross, Richard Swift, Pink Mountaintops and at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival with the Flaming Lips and Animal Collective. His work has been featured in books with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Jeff Buckley, Jack Hirschman, Amber Tamblyn and poet laureate Ted Kooser. He has performed at the largest outdoor festival in the world, Glastonbury, as an author.
As one of the most original and well-traveled writer/performers in the country, Derrick Brown has gained a cult following for his poetry performances all over the U.S. and Europe. A poetic terrorism group has taken to tagging his metaphors across the globe. About.com called his latest collection, Scandalabra, one of the best books of 2009.
To date, Brown has performed at over 1500 venues and universities internationally including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, La Sorbonne in Paris, CBGB’s in NYC and a small Jewish youth group in Glendale. He is the host of the variety show, The Lightbulb Mouth Radio Hour. Lightbulbmouth.com
Known for a moving show that incorporates poetry, minimalist music, and sound fx, Brown is unique for being an outstanding performer but is foremost a page poet. He is the president of Write Bloody Publishing, the first indie press to be reviewed with favor by Forbes magazine.
Derrick is available for booking performances, workshops, Master of Ceremonies, Master of Puppets as well as Host for shows and motivational-ish commencement speeches.
As a poet, he has toured or performed with Indie rock act, Cold War Kids, The Decemberists, Comedian David Cross, Richard Swift, Pink Mountaintops and at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival with the Flaming Lips and Animal Collective. His work has been featured in books with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Jeff Buckley, Jack Hirschman, Amber Tamblyn and poet laureate Ted Kooser. He has performed at the largest outdoor festival in the world, Glastonbury, as an author.
As one of the most original and well-traveled writer/performers in the country, Derrick Brown has gained a cult following for his poetry performances all over the U.S. and Europe. A poetic terrorism group has taken to tagging his metaphors across the globe. About.com called his latest collection, Scandalabra, one of the best books of 2009.
To date, Brown has performed at over 1500 venues and universities internationally including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, La Sorbonne in Paris, CBGB’s in NYC and a small Jewish youth group in Glendale. He is the host of the variety show, The Lightbulb Mouth Radio Hour. Lightbulbmouth.com
Known for a moving show that incorporates poetry, minimalist music, and sound fx, Brown is unique for being an outstanding performer but is foremost a page poet. He is the president of Write Bloody Publishing, the first indie press to be reviewed with favor by Forbes magazine.
Derrick is available for booking performances, workshops, Master of Ceremonies, Master of Puppets as well as Host for shows and motivational-ish commencement speeches.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 8, 2023
A collection of poems that weave through life like a drunk on a sidewalk - you never quite know where they're going but you're going along for the ride.
from Our Long Low Nights: "1. / Sometimes when a jazz cymbal / is played with a brush— / a steady soft roll— / I hear those rainy streets, / the cars I shoved you against, / kissing you into place."
from The Meek: "Let the world hypnotize / me. The grocery store doors hushing. / The winding barbershop pole dervish. / The buttery lines in the road, / hyphenating black."
from Joy in Places Without You: "I miss all your smells. / I ponder what they really are / cause they aren't impossible saffron, or new lemons, or cinnamon sex mix."
from Our Long Low Nights: "1. / Sometimes when a jazz cymbal / is played with a brush— / a steady soft roll— / I hear those rainy streets, / the cars I shoved you against, / kissing you into place."
from The Meek: "Let the world hypnotize / me. The grocery store doors hushing. / The winding barbershop pole dervish. / The buttery lines in the road, / hyphenating black."
from Joy in Places Without You: "I miss all your smells. / I ponder what they really are / cause they aren't impossible saffron, or new lemons, or cinnamon sex mix."
December 25, 2014
I have been following Derrick C. Brown for almost a decade, and he never ceases to amaze me with his growth as a writer. This, his final collection of poetry, is an absolute gem in contemporary American poetry. Spawned by a project pairing Brown's poetry with a dance troupe and orchestra, the poems in this book jump off the page and demand that you keep turning the page. I have no doubt that this will be hailed as the best collection from an internationally celebrated poet. No library is complete without it.
May 27, 2014
Always a cause for celebration, new poetry collection by the amazing Derrick Brown. It's like reading thirty small novels one after another. The soulfulness, the romanticism, the imaginative moves... Brown ennobles us by showing how even our contemporary lives, even our ridiculous and tiny and financially imprudent lives, can be the subject of moving verse. Love every bit of this.
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January 29, 2014I don't know how to rate this because I feel like I should probably enjoy this more than I do but the thing about Derrick Brown's poetry is that it has been a hit and miss with me. Not my favourite collection of his but enjoyable nonetheless. Try reading it out loud, somehow I felt that added to the experience of reading this.
March 1, 2012
Derrick is one of my favorite poets. He has a style completely his own. If you have never read a book of poetry, start now. because it is a crime to never have experienced the mind fuck that is Derricks poetry. This is my most highly anticipated read of 2012.
March 7, 2013
Great book. I read the entire book in one night. Took me approximately one hour. Many of the poems are funny.
December 6, 2016
These poems are full, complex narratives, and I can see how they would be powerful as performance. Not always as captivating to read, but excellent gems.
April 12, 2017
Derrick Brown will always have a special place in my journey with poetry.
I found his writing at a pivotal time in my mid-twenties. He performed at Cafe Deux Soleil in 2009 - to this day, he is still the funniest poet I've ever seen. He used music from Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky to back-up his readings, a technique I adopted heavily for my own performances later on. He swung for the fences with every poem - the metaphors were dizzying, the puns so bad they were good and the writing was nakedly honest. Brown also didn't sound like any other slam-poets I'd seen. Every other person who got on stage that night delivered their work with the same cadence and rhythm (if you've been to a slam event in the past, you know what I'm talking about).
My brother picked this book up for me recently and I read it in a few sittings. Two-stars feels cold, but I genuinely thought it was just "okay."
Derrick Brown's written voice comes off tired in this book...the metaphors don't hold the same grandeur as his earlier work. I'm also at a different place in life - a little older, a little wiser(?) and I've experienced a mix of good and bad things over the last eight years that have coloured how I see the world. Brown's words feel like they've been picked over in his notebooks - trying to recapture the magic of his early work. Many of the poems feel forced to me, rather than found.
A worthwhile read if you're a fan, but I wouldn't start with this book if you haven't read or seen him before.
I found his writing at a pivotal time in my mid-twenties. He performed at Cafe Deux Soleil in 2009 - to this day, he is still the funniest poet I've ever seen. He used music from Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky to back-up his readings, a technique I adopted heavily for my own performances later on. He swung for the fences with every poem - the metaphors were dizzying, the puns so bad they were good and the writing was nakedly honest. Brown also didn't sound like any other slam-poets I'd seen. Every other person who got on stage that night delivered their work with the same cadence and rhythm (if you've been to a slam event in the past, you know what I'm talking about).
My brother picked this book up for me recently and I read it in a few sittings. Two-stars feels cold, but I genuinely thought it was just "okay."
Derrick Brown's written voice comes off tired in this book...the metaphors don't hold the same grandeur as his earlier work. I'm also at a different place in life - a little older, a little wiser(?) and I've experienced a mix of good and bad things over the last eight years that have coloured how I see the world. Brown's words feel like they've been picked over in his notebooks - trying to recapture the magic of his early work. Many of the poems feel forced to me, rather than found.
A worthwhile read if you're a fan, but I wouldn't start with this book if you haven't read or seen him before.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews