Thrum: Poems

by Joel Allegretti

"In Thrum Joel Allegretti, deftly and delightfully, strums his magical musical instrument, which is poetry, as he forges fresh forms of songs and stories that are inspired by strummers’ strings. 'Context is everything,' Allegretti reminds us, and we’re planted in the heart of a global ancient/modern orchestra. Prepare yourself for the revelatory performance." -- Martine Bellen, Author of Tales of Murasaki and Other Poems , 1997 National Poetry Series selection

"Joel Allegretti's latest collection of poems is as enjoyable as it is different. Thrum takes the reader on a journey that explores known musical instruments, such as the mandolin, dulcimer and fiddle, as well as some not-so-known instruments, such as the oud, koto and theorbo. But what makes this journey unique is that each instrument is in a sense personified as the emotive element of each instrument is brought to life. Allegretti does a wonderful job tuning every poem so that the music of each instrument is realized again and again in the words on the page. An intriguing and must read for anyone who has a sense of all that culminates in the commingling of the arts." -- Raymond Hammond, Editor, The New York Quarterly

42 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Joel Allegretti is the author of two full-length collections from The Poet's Press: The Plague Psalms, which appeared in 2000 and is now in its third edition, and Father Silicon, selected by The Kansas City Star as one of 100 Noteworthy Books of 2006, a list that included novels by Thomas Pynchon and Cormac McCarthy. In March 2010 Poets Wear Prada published his third collection, Thrum, a chapbook of poems, prose poems and brief poetic essays about musical instruments. Raymond Hammond, editor of The New York Quarterly, calls Thrum "an intriguing and must read for anyone who has a sense of all that culminates in the commingling of the arts."

Allegretti's work has appeared in Art/Life Limited Editions, Rattapallax, The New York Quarterly, Descant, The Laurel Review, Margie, and Confrontation among many other journals, as well as in the anthology Chance of a Ghost (Helicon Nine Editions, 2005) which included work by Billy Collins, Rita Dove and James Tate. His poem in that collection received an Honorable Mention in the 2006 edition of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror from St. Martin's Press.
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