Riffs and Reciprocities: Prose Pairs

by Stephen Dunn

"This Astaire-like glide through our not-so-idle talk is a pleasure."― Publishers Weekly Stephen Dunn experiments with short, related pieces that play off each other in the manner of jazz improvisations. The resulting pairs cover such subjects as "Scruples/Saints," "Hypocrisy/Precision," and "Anger/Generosity." The wisdom and startling turns we've come to expect from Dunn are everywhere in the ninety miniatures (forty-five pairs) that comprise this volume.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

114 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Stephen Dunn was born in New York City in 1939. He earned a B.A. in history and English from Hofstra University, attended the New School Writing Workshops, and finished his M.A. in creative writing at Syracuse University. Dunn has worked as a professional basketball player, an advertising copywriter, and an editor, as well as a professor of creative writing.

Dunn's books of poetry include Everything Else in the World (W. W. Norton, 2006); Local Visitations (2003); Different Hours (2000), winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry; Loosestrife (1996); New and Selected Poems: 1974-1994 (1994); Landscape at the End of the Century (1991); Between Angels (1989); Local Time (1986), winner of the National Poetry Series; Not Dancing (1984); Work & Love (1981); A Circus of Needs (1978); Full of Lust and Good Usage (1976); and Looking For Holes In the Ceiling 1974. He is also the author of Walking Light: Memoirs and Essays on Poetry (BOA Editions, 2001), and Riffs & Reciprocities: Prose Pairs (1998).

Dunn's other honors include the Academy Award for Literature, the James Wright Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. He has taught poetry and creative writing and held residencies at Wartburg College, Wichita State University, Columbia University, University of Washington, Syracuse University, Southwest Minnesota State College, Princeton University, and University of Michigan. Dunn is currently Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing and lives in Port Republic, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wonder from the period in which Dunn seemed to be trying to find his next plateau. New and Selected Poems 1974-1994 seemed a little premature, for the man had not yet become an august poet. Loosestrife proved that the man had kick, not veneration, in him, and this one showed that he had the kind of wisdom we all need on the page. These paired paragraphs of course show how opposites meld, maybe even imitate each other. Among the strongest are pairs like "Evil" & "Advocacy," "Vulgar" & "Sublime" and "Frivolity" & "Seriousness." Though Dunn forewarns us in his preface of the oncoming pithiness he allowed in this form, some do allow themselves a little too much rhetoric and sacrifice the image to attach to it, but when he allows both, he absolutely hits it out of the park.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of those rare books that you're never truly finished with. I'd have to look far and wide to find prose that says so much in such a short space. Any writer will tell you that the shortest pieces are the most difficult, so it's even more impressive when you find a writer who makes that look so easy.

Sorry, but I'm overcome by awe for this writer's genius. I can't even bring myself to say why, only that I'll return again and again to these complements, these related "opposites" in prose form. I'm so grateful that my friend Mike introduced me to this. Astonishing prose, more profound than most poetry.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those slender volumes that takes far longer to read than mere page number would suggest, mostly due to Stephen Dunn's mastery of human emotion, our strengths and our weaknesses. Each paired duo is a short meditation on connected subjects that reveal far more about the human condition than the pithy titles and pairings would suggest. It isn't quite as good as his poetry, which does the same thing with more artistry, IMO (it should come as no surprise that Mr Dunn is one of my favorite poets,) but is still a wonderful addition to a masterful oeuvre.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These prose pairs are very creative, examining humanity with such depth and insight that it makes you question everything you've ever considered, only to come away with a deeper appreciation of who you are as you solidify your identity through the questioning. And I'm pretty sure I would find Stephen Dunn absolutely obnoxious if I knew him, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading his thoughts.

[Sierra Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't given prose poetry a try, now's the time to start. These poems are beautiful, funny, ironic, and thought-provoking. Each one makes you think about some aspect of our world or human nature. Very readable, too.

[Benjy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such rare wisdom and humor in these prose poem essays. It's slim but slow going, the kind of book that invites late night lingering and a concerted effort to push to the next page rather than dwell indefinitely on the one just read. I loved this.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in college but recently decided it needed a second read. Loving it as much as ever. And especially loving the notes from 10-years-ago me.

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this as a gift from a very close friend -- it's wonderful, travels with me.

[Rebecca]

Just got it at Recycle Books.

[Keifer May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, as a fan of prose poetry. Something about the platitudes and cliches rubbed me the wrong way.

Sure, some of these poems turns a phrase brilliantly. Some of them sing and really feel rhythm. However, the majority failed to grab me.

Not a bad book, but not one I feel the need to reread anytime soon!

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ashley Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not my bag for whatever reason. Doesn't mean it's not worth a read.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first two thirds quite rapidly because I was fascinated by the project, which is writing sets of two prose poems that are interrelated, whether opposites, like Anger/Generosity or practically synonymous like Sky/Weather. Dunn is a very capable explorer, willing to see similarities where we might want to see differences and vice versa, looking at things from different perspectives.

I then put it down and couldn't pick it up again until I am now rested by a vacation in which I'm recovering from a cold and so can't do anything but rest and a few chores. I've decompressed enough not to care whether it reminds me of politics. And again, I was drawn into the compact comparisons and the places they took him. This book is a keeper because it's worth reading again, especially years later, to see what you think of it with the benefit of another 5 or 10 years. I found myself wondering what I would have thought of it if I were 10 or 20 years younger. Any one of the titles gets me thinking how I would have tackled (or avoided) that as a subject for a poem: Vengeance, Paradox, Certainty.

Let me give you a taste by sharing the first lines of a couple of the pairings. First Reading/Erasure, then Vulgar/Sublime.

Reading
From his hotel balcony in Italy, he sees a lovely woman sunning herself on a balcony adjacent to his. Only a little wall and a few large plants separate them. She's topless, but after a while that doesn't matter. She's reading a book he's written and he can see her lips moving to some of his words.

Erasure
I've crossed things out with a thin, single stroke so the original could be read, leaving for investigation both the correction and the corrected. I've intentionally erased two people from my life, only two, yet can't help following the traces of them.

Vulgar
Not always bad taste, but the exercise of taste without knowing the level above it. Ostentation, sometimes as small as a wink. The gum-chewer, of course, and the man with a wad of bills.

Sublime
Las Vegas. Shut in for a weekend with slots, roulette, black jack, craps. A little of one, a lot of the other. Women with outfits cut for whatever you might be thinking, though you're not much thinking of them.

If you found yourself drawn into these, then this book might be worth digging up in a library. If they leave you yawning, don't worry that you're missing great poetry. You're missing an interesting project that will suit certain minds, but I can't say this is great poetry. It did, however, intrigue me the first time through and I suspect it will again when I return to it years hence.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A useful study in prose poetry as a form, with some interesting insights that anyone who has ever been a human can relate to. I particularly liked the pairings of Sky/Weather and Mercy/Vengeance. However, I don't have a taste for profanity or for Dunn's treatment of religion, which borders on mockery in places throughout this book.

[T.]

/ Written 13 February 2009
Bought this while waiting for Nan to arrive. He was supposed to join me at the Audrey Hepburn film festival but we ended up having coffee instead.

/ First read 13 February 2009.
/ Reread on 29 July 2010.

[Don LaVange]

I've read a couple of these. Not enough to form a good picture, but I find the language compelling. Bought this for a class and read all the assigned stuff.