Muscular Music

by Terrance Hayes

The poems in Terrance Hayes's book, Muscular Music, are atypical of most writers' first books of poetry. One cannot categorize these poems simply as confessional, narrative, or lyrical. They are all these things at once. They move beyond usual explorations of childhood or family to blend themes and influences that range from Neruda to Coltrane, Fat Albert to Orpheus, John Shaft to Gershwin. This book gives us an almost Whitmanesque account of an America, and an African American, replete with grace and imperfection. Moreover, it gives us a voice that does not sacrifice truth for music or music for accessibility. At the end of a poem that includes Bill Strayhorn, Andrew Carnegie, and Dante, Hayes says, "I know one of the rings of hell is reserved for men who refuse to weep. So I let it come. And it does not move from me." These lines reflect what is always at the core of Hayes's poetry: a faithfulness, not to traditional forms or themes, but to heart and honesty. It is a core bounded by and cradled by a passion for the music in all things.

Genres: Poetry, African American, Literary Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 1999

About the author

Terrance Hayes is the author of six poetry collections, including American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin, How to Be Drawn, and Lighthead, which won the National Book Award. He is a MacArthur Fellow and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Caspar "moved to storygraph" Bryant]

undoubtedly one of the best alive, a banger of a debut.... right thru from At Pegasus, immediately . An amazing poem & over twenty years old but lives and breathes now. everything in here worth the time but special commendation to the last section, Davis & Coltrane, the heartbreak there, that letdown, Boxcar

[Meher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Now that my afro’s as big as Shaft’s
I feel a little better about myself.
How it warms my bullet-head in Winter..."

Terrance Hayes is such an important poet for Black America, and he gets the community's experiences with systemic racism, pop culture, gang warfare pat down. Watch for the section 'Yummy Suite' - a collection of poems on the devastating shooing of 14 year-old Shavon at the hands of 11 year-old Yummy. Shafro, Yummy Suite, Late, HowYouBeens, Pittsburgh, and Poet Dying At The Window are all incredible poems worthy of applause.

[Craig Werner]

The first book by a poet I've followed closely since his second book. Much of what I love about Hayes is fully present here and there's a rough edge that fits with the experiences he's drawing on. Love his sense of music--Donny Hathaway, Billie Holiday, Roberta Flack, the ambiguities/contradictions of listening to Miles Davis knowing he didn't live the life his music summons us to live.

The opening poem, What I Am, is a classic and Woman Walking on the Road comes closer.

[JTGlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

From "Salami (A Manifesto)," this line nearly ruined the whole collection for me:
"...I think I'd like to be
(a) a prison guard. I'd carry a dozen clattering
silver keys and where striped pants.


From "Noir: Orpheus," this stanza stuck with me:
Love should be a tow truck--
What rescues our stalled, abandoned hearts;
What leads us back to repair.
Love should save us,
But it won't.

[Mike Hammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

creative, powerful, funny poems
hayes always has great lines
his pems always have a little bit of music in them
he has some poems about jazz and pittsburgh and love
its a solid first collection

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love should be a tow truck --
What rescues our stalled, abandoned hearts;
What leads us back to repair.
Love should save us,
But it won't.

[Andrew Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayes writes about Afro-American culture and experience and issues that compete with those issues. He's good, has a unique voice.

[‎Seth Studer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it for “Goliath Poem” alone.

[Danielle DeTiberus · Rating 3 out of 5]

These poems are full of life— they call to be spoken out-loud from the page. Hayes writes as if singing, as if his words were caught mid-conversation. Some of these poems are an excellent study in how to use rhythm, syntax, and cadence to make the reader want to bring your words to life with her own mouth. “At Pegasus,” Tenderness,” and “When The Neighbors Fight” are especially honest and unexpected poems.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection with many poems that are moving, funny, and provocative in meaningful ways. "Yummy Suite," "Late; for My Mother," "Derrick Poem (the Lost World)" and "Goliath Poem" were some of my favorites.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredibly interesting melange of sights, sounds, memories & pop culture iconography. I don't quite understand the arrangement and the overall collectedness of this volume. Good, but often not cohesive.

[Heather Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayes' poems moved me into complete love for him a a poet. He has a talent beyond the average mind, and a sensitivity to human nature that makes be desirous to speak with such a mind.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

See review of Wind in a Box.
Ditto.

[Amy Kitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

fresh voice...fresh poems

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whip-quick and deeply musical. At turns flashy and sincere.

[Mona Kareem · Rating 4 out of 5]

"what happens when a dream explodes?
does it hush?"

[Camara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of poetry of all time.