Imaginary Paintings

by Charles Baxter

Poems deal with art, travel, shopping, families, unemployment, the imagination, religion, and modern life

Genres: Poetry

101 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Charles Baxter was born in Minneapolis and graduated from Macalester College, in Saint Paul. After completing graduate work in English at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he taught for several years at Wayne State University in Detroit. In 1989, he moved to the Department of English at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and its MFA program. He now teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Baxter is the author of 4 novels, 4 collections of short stories, 3 collections of poems, a collection of essays on fiction and is the editor of other works. His works of fiction include Believers , The Feast of Love (nominated for the National Book Award), Saul and Patsy , and Through the Safety Net . He lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[John Vanderslice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Baxter is one of my favorite fiction writers, so it was a delight to read him in this different, earlier incarnation. That of formalist poet. Not formalist in the sense that he uses traditional poetic forms but that he maintains throughout a very restrained, careful literate tone. These poems are mostly on the long side, and almost none of them feature an “I” speaker. Beat poetry and confessional poetry this is NOT. But it is very accomplished poetry, by a writer who knows what he is doing. Every poem has lines that ring in your head. They are lines to write down and recite later. But it’s worth noting that these are the poems of a future famous fiction writer. No surprise that Baxter in the poetry likes to do character sketches and descriptive observations about persons, places, and, yes, (imaginary) paintings. I prefer his fiction. It has more vigor and more life. But these are not the poems of a writer who quit because he couldn’t do it. These are solid and successful pieces.

[W.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of these poems are rather pedestrian, but it gets three stars for the stellar few in here that will stay with you rather permanenly...the Rrose Selavy piece is particularly good...it's been years since i've seen or read this...i wonder if i would like mor or dislike more...b/c i can only remember a handful of the poems...but those ones i remember were good...i like the one about the man who just wants to stay in bed...

[Hannah Jane]

"The White Apartment," "The Purest Rage," and "How She Knew It Was Over" are STELLAR.

My favorite line from the whole book:

"And certainly no one was kissing or cared
to make any wine, and then, oddly,
instead of saying, 'Excuse me,' they
were all saying, "I don't apologize,"
in a rash, low murmur."

[Andreana · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems are extremely visual. Great read for those interested in ekphrastic poetry.