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Idiot Verse
Indole solitaria, introverso, barba lunga e look austero che ricorda quello di un predicatore. Keaton Henson, tradotto per la prima volta in Italia, è il raffinato cantore di un universo fragile, romantico ed elegante che ha nelle illustrazioni visionarie, da lui stesso realizzate, un contraltare perfetto. I tratti a matita, talvolta indecifrabili, sfumano in un linguaggio caratterizzato da una forte tensione emotiva.
Da annotare il rifiuto all’apposizione del punto fermo a chiusura delle singole liriche che gli permette di ricomporre la silloge in un disarmante diario intimo e garbato dove leccarsi le ferite e al contempo svelarsi, raccontarsi. Versi idioti, disancorati da orpelli formali e letterari. Versi sinceri che rifiutano ambiguità e facili consolazioni. In questo senso, la silloge rappresenta un percorso introspettivo tanto sofferto quanto sincero.
Da annotare il rifiuto all’apposizione del punto fermo a chiusura delle singole liriche che gli permette di ricomporre la silloge in un disarmante diario intimo e garbato dove leccarsi le ferite e al contempo svelarsi, raccontarsi. Versi idioti, disancorati da orpelli formali e letterari. Versi sinceri che rifiutano ambiguità e facili consolazioni. In questo senso, la silloge rappresenta un percorso introspettivo tanto sofferto quanto sincero.
- GenresPoetryNonfictionAdult
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
23 people are currently reading
3930 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
April 22, 2017
I was doomed to rate this five stars before opening the pages.
If you're unaware: Keaton Henson is my everything. He is a singer that pours his heart out into every song with a voice so wavering and gentle that I just want to hold him in my arms until the end of the Earth and tell him he's precious and that it's okay and nobody will ever hurt him again. He has severe social anxiety that causes him to only play live music rarely, which just makes this book that much more special, for him to share more of himself with us.
I'm utterly torn because of this.
He writes so candidly, and his heartbreak and self-loathing and poeticness really shine through. This book talks about loving and losing love, his anxiety, his relationship with his family, his relationship with London, and everything in between. It's gorgeous. It's haunting. It's everything.
Interspersed are penciled-in drawings of Keaton's, and they were just the nicest touch. A lot of the images are incomprehensible--his style is questionable at best--but somehow they work. Even if I have no idea what i'm looking at, even just the texture of the pencil strokes speaks enough about what he must have been feeling while he was drawing it.
I can't emphasize enough how much you should pick up this book. If I wasn't a fan of Keaton it would probably only be a 4 star book for me, but just because I had his music on shuffle while reading and knowing him as an artist, I connected to this on a personal level and it just made me ten times more inspired to jump on a plane to London so that I can find him and tell him how perfect he is and how important he is to me.
This book is truly priceless. Please get it if you love Keaton at all.
If you're unaware: Keaton Henson is my everything. He is a singer that pours his heart out into every song with a voice so wavering and gentle that I just want to hold him in my arms until the end of the Earth and tell him he's precious and that it's okay and nobody will ever hurt him again. He has severe social anxiety that causes him to only play live music rarely, which just makes this book that much more special, for him to share more of himself with us.
I'm utterly torn because of this.
He writes so candidly, and his heartbreak and self-loathing and poeticness really shine through. This book talks about loving and losing love, his anxiety, his relationship with his family, his relationship with London, and everything in between. It's gorgeous. It's haunting. It's everything.
Interspersed are penciled-in drawings of Keaton's, and they were just the nicest touch. A lot of the images are incomprehensible--his style is questionable at best--but somehow they work. Even if I have no idea what i'm looking at, even just the texture of the pencil strokes speaks enough about what he must have been feeling while he was drawing it.
I can't emphasize enough how much you should pick up this book. If I wasn't a fan of Keaton it would probably only be a 4 star book for me, but just because I had his music on shuffle while reading and knowing him as an artist, I connected to this on a personal level and it just made me ten times more inspired to jump on a plane to London so that I can find him and tell him how perfect he is and how important he is to me.
This book is truly priceless. Please get it if you love Keaton at all.
June 30, 2016
Came for the prose.
Didn't realize I'd leave without half my soul.
Didn't realize I'd leave without half my soul.
November 16, 2015
The idea that sad words can make for beautiful poetry is my favorite type of juxtaposition. I devoured this poetry book, and loved the taste of every word. Not only is his music beautiful, but so is his poetry.
April 24, 2017
milk and honey who?
July 15, 2016
Absolutely beautiful, clever pieces that can bring a smile, laugh, or tear (or some strange combination-emotion). I often keep this book near and read a poem or two. Keaton is such a wonderful artist and these pieces have inspired my own poetry. I love the rhythmic phrasing and the sentiments within. The drawings were also a cool touch:)
February 7, 2023
merci paula fir d‘buch🫶🏼
February 17, 2016
i used to love keaton henson's music a lot back in 2011 and 2012 but then i kind of forgot him. after reading this i'd really like to get back to listening him because he truly has a way with words. so yeah, loved this.
November 11, 2016
"I'm smoking a lot
and starting to doubt
if I'm breathing you in
or smoking you out"
and starting to doubt
if I'm breathing you in
or smoking you out"
November 30, 2017
So I'll smoke a cigarette and think
of everything you are
how can I feed and dress myself
while thinking of the stars?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLI2U...
of everything you are
how can I feed and dress myself
while thinking of the stars?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLI2U...
May 1, 2017
"(...)
darling one, darling
there's nothing you lack
I'll give you the sky
or the skin off my back
you are my anger
I'll keep you from harm
talk to me sweetly
break both my arms
(...)"
I have loved Keaton Henson's music for a long time now. I have cried and smiled to his songs, and his poetry is not different. What is music after all, if not giving voice and rhythm to poetry?
The magical thing about this book is the fact of being able to read Henson's verses to his music. And that's not that common, so my advice is: if you love his music Idiot Verse is a MUST.
darling one, darling
there's nothing you lack
I'll give you the sky
or the skin off my back
you are my anger
I'll keep you from harm
talk to me sweetly
break both my arms
(...)"
I have loved Keaton Henson's music for a long time now. I have cried and smiled to his songs, and his poetry is not different. What is music after all, if not giving voice and rhythm to poetry?
The magical thing about this book is the fact of being able to read Henson's verses to his music. And that's not that common, so my advice is: if you love his music Idiot Verse is a MUST.
January 24, 2018
It's ironic.
Goodreads recommended this to me and I saw in the reviews that Keaton Henson is actually also a musician, so after I'd ordered this collection I spent many hours devoted to listening to his work on spotify until the parcel with Idiot Verse landed on my doorstep this afternoon.
(Keaton Henson is actually on in the background as I type. Give him a listen, heartbreakingly lovely.)
Very authentic, very real poetry - no forcefulness or pretentiousness to the poems - he goes into some detail in the beginning too, that that's not what he's after.
I flew through this and I want to read a lot more, please.
Meanwhile. Luckily have the beautiful sounds to soothe me.
Goodreads recommended this to me and I saw in the reviews that Keaton Henson is actually also a musician, so after I'd ordered this collection I spent many hours devoted to listening to his work on spotify until the parcel with Idiot Verse landed on my doorstep this afternoon.
(Keaton Henson is actually on in the background as I type. Give him a listen, heartbreakingly lovely.)
Very authentic, very real poetry - no forcefulness or pretentiousness to the poems - he goes into some detail in the beginning too, that that's not what he's after.
I flew through this and I want to read a lot more, please.
Meanwhile. Luckily have the beautiful sounds to soothe me.
May 5, 2016
If you're a fan of Henson's albums, this book has the same aching melancholy you've come to enjoy. Plus, some of the sketches interspersed throughout have become artwork for singles and such, so there's a level of familiarity to the book. If you're not familiar with his music, I suggest that it's the field in which he is most accomplished, so you should probably start there.
As poetry, the forms Henson uses are loose and often pat, and the frequent use of anachronisms such as "thee" suggest that he, as do we all, needs to become more familiar with modern poetry, and making verse out of our own language rather than that of dead poets. (A few of the poems here point out this fault explicitly, but that's a soft way out.)
Nevertheless, I remain a fan of the content of Henson's work, and there are plenty of admirable poems and turns of phrase contained within. I hesitate to recommend it to the minority who actively read or write modern poetry, as I doubt there is much here to challenge or excite them, but most will find the sweet melancholy alluring, and consider this book time well spent.
As poetry, the forms Henson uses are loose and often pat, and the frequent use of anachronisms such as "thee" suggest that he, as do we all, needs to become more familiar with modern poetry, and making verse out of our own language rather than that of dead poets. (A few of the poems here point out this fault explicitly, but that's a soft way out.)
Nevertheless, I remain a fan of the content of Henson's work, and there are plenty of admirable poems and turns of phrase contained within. I hesitate to recommend it to the minority who actively read or write modern poetry, as I doubt there is much here to challenge or excite them, but most will find the sweet melancholy alluring, and consider this book time well spent.
August 7, 2017
Keaton Henson once caught me by surprise with his timid, poignant Mahogany Session in 2012. His words have been with me ever since. They've gotten me through the toughest heartbreak. Prepare yourself, you're going on a feels trip.
January 4, 2020
There are some truly beautiful poems in here. Keaton Henson is incredibly vulnerable and honest, and his words resonate deeply because of it.
"come in your own time, and human be
yours politely,
lonely me" --Polite Plea
"come in your own time, and human be
yours politely,
lonely me" --Polite Plea
July 8, 2020
Thank you Rand.
February 13, 2016
I was expecting more substantial poems rather than some being only a few stanzas long. I can understand brevity but I feel like some of them were quite drab and like they were penned in 20 seconds. I appreciated the longer poems like Grow Up With Me. The smaller ones seemed like the beginnings of unfinished lyrics. Other than that, a nice short read probably appreciated more by fans than by poetry aficionados.
Read
May 12, 2025I had this collection on my TBR for a while now and I think I might have enjoyed more back when I actually bought it…
There‘s a great cadence to the poems I really enjoyed (you can tell he‘s a musician) that really lifted the poems even in their simplicity.
Yet I do think they also carry so much sadness and while that is beautiful when shared, I just didn‘t click with the ongoing gloomy tone and the yearning for someone.
I did really enjoy the ones about places and home!
There‘s a great cadence to the poems I really enjoyed (you can tell he‘s a musician) that really lifted the poems even in their simplicity.
Yet I do think they also carry so much sadness and while that is beautiful when shared, I just didn‘t click with the ongoing gloomy tone and the yearning for someone.
I did really enjoy the ones about places and home!
August 30, 2023
New Review:
Read many times. Thankful for Keaton. His art has been with me for many years and likely will grow as I do.
Old review:
“grow up with me” will forever be one of the best poems i’ve ever read. with childlike youth like some independent love-story film, i have jokingly dreamed of intertwining it somehow into future wedding vows.
Read many times. Thankful for Keaton. His art has been with me for many years and likely will grow as I do.
Old review:
“grow up with me” will forever be one of the best poems i’ve ever read. with childlike youth like some independent love-story film, i have jokingly dreamed of intertwining it somehow into future wedding vows.
June 11, 2016
this one's so good it made me cry.
Read
March 2, 2025Favourite poems:
"Polite Plea"
come and be human with me
eat nothing that means us both leaving the house
sit on the floor in strange places
and sleep in familiar beds
I will make art, not for, but about you
speak truths while you're sleeping and wake you with hands
we will dive deeply into one another
and stay out of our own weary heads
we will argue in glorious fireworks
I will throw words, you will break my guitar
remind ourselves that it's something worth burning
and be all the better for making up
come and eat cereal late at night
in silence, undressed on the kitchen floor
be far too tired for tomorrow's long stroll
in love, just enough for the waking up
come in your own time, and human be
yours politely,
lonely me
"Regret Me"
who watches while you dance my dear?
who whispers softly 'are you well?'
and softer still in moonlight's spell
'I'm lonely my love, come and save me'
who listens to your collars turn
your sleeves drip red as arms and hands
reach, desperate, for escaping sands?
I'm lonely my darling, don't break me
here's this, just this to keep in mind
the times we had and how I left
us both behind and so bereft
I'm lonely my dear, forget me.
I'm lonely, pretend that you left me
I'm lonely, so please just let me
be alone,
but regret me
"Polite Plea"
come and be human with me
eat nothing that means us both leaving the house
sit on the floor in strange places
and sleep in familiar beds
I will make art, not for, but about you
speak truths while you're sleeping and wake you with hands
we will dive deeply into one another
and stay out of our own weary heads
we will argue in glorious fireworks
I will throw words, you will break my guitar
remind ourselves that it's something worth burning
and be all the better for making up
come and eat cereal late at night
in silence, undressed on the kitchen floor
be far too tired for tomorrow's long stroll
in love, just enough for the waking up
come in your own time, and human be
yours politely,
lonely me
"Regret Me"
who watches while you dance my dear?
who whispers softly 'are you well?'
and softer still in moonlight's spell
'I'm lonely my love, come and save me'
who listens to your collars turn
your sleeves drip red as arms and hands
reach, desperate, for escaping sands?
I'm lonely my darling, don't break me
here's this, just this to keep in mind
the times we had and how I left
us both behind and so bereft
I'm lonely my dear, forget me.
I'm lonely, pretend that you left me
I'm lonely, so please just let me
be alone,
but regret me
February 6, 2017
‘say, what of the heart and the way that it breaks?
pour all the dust into what you create’
keaton henson’s idiot verse is exactly what i was looking for. he did not write a masterpiece, but shared a huge slice of his soul without trying to impress. this book feels really close to me and i love every single word.
pour all the dust into what you create’
keaton henson’s idiot verse is exactly what i was looking for. he did not write a masterpiece, but shared a huge slice of his soul without trying to impress. this book feels really close to me and i love every single word.
April 2, 2017
TRIGGER WARNING: This collection of poems will elicit a superlative response from all its readers. Most readers will quip "It's all coming back to me" quite often while reading. Read with caution. Keep your "tough-love" playlist around. Don't read while listening to Keaton's music. The words "San Quentin, may you rot and burn in hell" will help. Reading these out to someone will make you all the more sad, so avoid doing that at all costs.
Sparse, uncompromising and harrowing.
Sparse, uncompromising and harrowing.
September 23, 2017
there'll be no more staying indoors
less of the longing, the ardent lust
more of the breathing, in breathing we trust
more of the beating of hearts in the dusk
no more staying indoors
(From "Excursions", p. 43)
I am utterly and completely in awe. A new favorite.
less of the longing, the ardent lust
more of the breathing, in breathing we trust
more of the beating of hearts in the dusk
no more staying indoors
(From "Excursions", p. 43)
I am utterly and completely in awe. A new favorite.
June 6, 2020
Entertaining and personal.
October 31, 2020
Keaton’s art will never fail. I found myself here, I left myself here, but I will surely come back again.
January 21, 2023
"but how can I sleep with the world in my head?"
April 4, 2023
lovely.
„regret me“, „too soon“, “louise”, „sanctuary“, „bay bridge“, „leaving it behind“, „insomnia“, „they“ and „to“ particularly resonated with me
„regret me“, „too soon“, “louise”, „sanctuary“, „bay bridge“, „leaving it behind“, „insomnia“, „they“ and „to“ particularly resonated with me
May 4, 2024
i just really love keaton henson i guess…
my favourites were leaving it behind and new year’s eve with tennyson
my favourites were leaving it behind and new year’s eve with tennyson
September 25, 2020
Één van m'n favoriete muzikanten zijn eerste poëzie boek. Ik moest er lang op wachten, maar het was het wachten waard. Intieme poëzie van een artiest die amper optreedt door sociale angst; dit boek schept een beeld van wat achter de façade schuilgaat.
March 4, 2019
So beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews