The Charm

by Kathy Fagan

"Kathy Fagan's "The Charm" works the true spells of childhood, the superstitions of romance, the bewitching alchemies of words themselves and casts us sun-struck in our lives--doomed, yes, but 'dovewinged.' Fact, speculation, nostalgia, and mystery are wielded with equal power and stunning craft. Fagan is writing some of the wisest and alluring poems of our day." -Beckian Fritz Goldberg"There is something both very old and very new--archaic and postmodern--in Kathy Fagan's wise-cracking charms to assuage rage and despair, to ward off misfortune and heartbreak. "The Charm" dissolves the leaden circles in the air and charms with fresh carols." -Edward Hirsch

"Kathy Fagan's rage is subtle, her loves draw you in, and there is a driving curiosity that comes only with great respect for life." -Bob Hicok

Kathy Fagan is the author of "Lip, Moving & St Rage," winner of the Vassar Miller Prize for Poetry, and "The Raft," a National Poetry Series selection. She is professor of English at Ohio State University.

Genres: Poetry

65 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2012

Reviews

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best poetry books of the decade.

[Drunken_orangetree · Rating 4 out of 5]

crafty, clever, and an appealing mix of colloquial and formal language. I really liked "Laine and Soie" and "Little Bad Dream Charm."

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was just alright, wasn't what I was expecting based on the description and none of the poems really stuck with me

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite poems in the collection are 'Alas, My Heart, If I Could Bare/ My Heart...', 'Great Poets Steal', 'Misfortune Cookies', 'Invective', 'Letter from the Garden', and especially 'Laine et Soie'.

[Mills College Library]

811.54 F151c 2002