Things Are Happening

by Joshua Beckman, Gerald Stern (Introduction)

The inaugural winner of the annual American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Award.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Joshua Beckman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the author of six books, including Take It (Wave Books, 2009), Shake and two collaborations with Matthew Rohrer: Nice Hat. Thanks. and Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty. He is an editor at Wave Books and has translated numerous works of poetry and prose, including Poker by Tomaz Salamun, which was a finalist for the PEN America Poetry in Translation Award. He is also the recipient of numerous other awards, including a NYFA fellowship and a Pushcart Prize. He lives in Seattle and New York.

For more information on this author, go to:
http://www.wavepoetry.com/authors/31-...

Reviews

[Jeffrey Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I came to this book with high expectations after reading some of his more recent work. After reading the first 3 poems in this collection of 6, I was beginning to lose focus and get distracted and was mindlessly pushing through the words to get to the end.

This may be an exaggeration but it helps express the strength of the last 3 poems: Purple Heart Highway, The Redwoods: A Tragedy, and Winter’s Horizon. Within the first few lines, I paused, took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. Here was the Joshua Beckman I am so enamored with. This is the Joshu Beckman that inspired me to binge buy all of his poetry collections a few days ago.

The voice in these poems is beautiful while at the same time depressing. The language flows and breaks with a purpose that makes each of these long poems an experience. These are poems that I will be rereading many times.

[Philip Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beckman reminds me of that cliche that poetry can be many different things to many different people. Yes, a cliche, perhaps, but usually one that refers to the same poem, as in: a poem can mean many different things to many different people.

Beckman's narrative linkings, timings, and weaving resonates in me like prose, but allows for a deeper consideration as poetry does so well. Dare I say this is poetry written for me.

A great work by a fantastic poet to watch, follow and read. Only sorry it took me so long to find it.

Philip Swanstrom Shaw

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh Beckman is an awesomely contemporary poet. He is able to tell a story using the simplest words possible. Plus, the title for this book is great and it totally describes the sentiment of the poems. They are about things that happen, and Beckman describes these things in a way that might make you reevaulate how you view the things that happened to you.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

On one hand I much prefer "Shake", much much prefer "Shake." (Read "Shake")

On the other this book which could very easily be blurbed with the dreaded "taking everyday life and making it new" avoids all the awfulnesses that statement has come to imply. It's a book I'd teach, especially to the students who don't run headlong to the wilder stuff.

[Holly Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sort of surprised that Stern wrote the preface to this, but it makes sense. Beckman definitely is writing, in some sense, in a trajectory established by Stern, Levine, Levis, etc. I'd just never made the connection before. It makes me think about American poetry and feel nice and tingly. Ah.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

best read of last summer.