Misterioso: Poems

by Sascha Feinstein

One of Copper Canyon Press's missions is to introduce the Work of new poets. This season we launch the annual Hayden Carruth Emerging Poets Award, with Sascha Feinstein's Misterioso. Chosen from over a thousand manuscript submissions, Misterioso is steeped in the biographies, history, and sounds of jazz music, using a distinctly American idiom to explore personal relationships. Whether writing about John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk (the inspiration for the book's title), Feinstein transcends mere portraiture by emphasizing the meditative and sonorous qualities of jazz music.

Genres: Poetry

71 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Asa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably somewhere between a 3.5 and 4, gave the benefit of the doubt because I’m a sucker for all of the jazz references and because the poet and I clearly both rank Monk first above all.

Picked this book up on tour at a tiny vintage shop somewhere in Cape Cod. Needed something to hold me over at the beach prior to soundcheck and I had just finished Roth’s Goodbye Columbus. It far exceeded its role, and for that I thank it.

There are a few truly beautiful passages in here, particular in the remembrance of love, whether for a parent or a lover. Not every poem is a winner, but overall a nice little gem unearthed in the wild.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the pace and tone of these poems. Reads like jazz.

[Shila Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is always wonderful to see how much people are inspired and influenced by the creations of African Americans- jazz, blues, soul, and the list stretches far and wide.