Bang Ditto

by Amber Tamblyn

We'd all love to stop eating the poisonous parts of our wildness. Ever wondered what it's like to be a celebrated Hollywood actor from the age of eleven? With insightful, no BS, cards-on-the-table poetry that is quite serious yet has fun with metaphor, imagery, and language itself, author Amber Tamblyn gives readers a backstage pass to the show inside her mind.

Whether she's describing real life info-gathering for a new prime time TV drama ("Role Research") or addressing the crossroads of public perception and private life ("Fell Off"), Amber Tamblyn reveals questions, answers, and more in Bang Ditto, wielding metaphors mercilessly in a wry and talented voice.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Amber Tamblyn is an author, actor, and director. She's been nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award for her work in television and film, including House M.D. and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Most recently, she wrote and directed the feature film Paint It Black. She is the author of three books of poetry, including the critically acclaimed bestseller Dark Sparkler, and a novel, Any Man, as well as a contributing writer for the New York Times. She lives in New York.

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a collection, not all that but it had its moments. The poem that that made me buy this book was "Dear Demographic", I still think it is the best poem in this book.

Some favorite lines:

"Katherine Hepburn Straight to DVD"
'I rise above myself.
There I was, there I am, there I'll be.'

"Learning to Trust Legs"
'Go ahead. Ask me why I took the offer
to play a hooker when I knew that you
always loved me more. Ask me.'

"The Eve of a Presidency"
'Someday our deaths will make all the tomorrows
stop to look over their shoulders.
Until then, I'm the museum where
your big picture is worth a fortune.'

"Croak"
'She was one of
four female walls
that kept him upright.'

"Fell Off"
'Fuck a face you never cared to stay on
in the first place.'
'that night you learned how to never look back,
to never need the cement
more than it needs you.'

"My Face"
'I have wrinkles at 22 years old
because they were pointed out to me in the first place.'
'My face runs its own nonprofit organization
to help my cheeks raise awareness
and fight laugh lines.'

"Trust Haiku"
'Never trust actors
who can't cry on cue. Those are
the suspicious ones.
Never trust mirrors.
Image is antagonist.'
'Never trust trusting
someone who can never trust.'
'Never trust liars.
Unless you yourself are one.
Always trust yourself.'

"Strange"
'In twilight, I lit you up.
We kissed to ensure survival.
My fingernails scaled the rocks in your back.
My blue hair fell about your face,
velvet curtains of the magician's bedroom -
and into each other's bodies
we learned how to disappear.'
'Strange,
how you always
had some place to be
some thing to be
some claim to seize.'
'...your eyes grew seismic at the sight of it: me'
'knowing you didn't have a kitten anymore
but a wolf
in woman's clothing.'
'You always knew how to make
the best beginnings.'

"He Seemed Like a Nice Axe"
'I stopped counting the times
I couldn't count on you.'
'My heart was a wave
that broke for you.'

"Bedtime For the Archimedes of Your Hell"
'She found the hole
in a different man's heart
and fell.'
'She might
still or never
remember
a digit
of your smile.'

"In My Best Anne Sexton Accent"
'I dug through your shoulders
and found a love poem
you were going to throw away.'
'and dreams of running in a world
that ran away with you.'

"Framework"
'Who am I?
You ask me.
I can already taste
the way you'll spit me out.'
'Now go out and find yourself.
Make me want to know you.'

"In a New York Mugging"
'I emptied the purse,
emptied out the feelings.
Self-esteem rolled into a gutter,
closure dropped to the cement and shattered.
Slipped guilt into my sleeve,
I always manage to save it.
Grief, insomnia, and depression
cowered in the zipper pocket lining.
They always manage to save themselves.
My recovery efforts,
all of them,
pocketed.'

"Hate, a Love Poem"
'I'm not jealous of your new lover.
She's just another ring in your dead tree stump.'
'You put the you
back in fuck you.'

"Word War"
'Love came home an unknown.
Slowly died before us.
It was not within us to know why.
Helpless ourselves,
bedridden rudimentarily
from mystery.
Had we done this?'
'We could not ease the pain
of vanishing numbers of lovers like us,
destroyed over the years.'

"If You Decide It's Better to Let Go"
'And you won't be missed.
You cannot be missed
if you forever exist.'

"Oh, You"
'I bargained with the world's
greatest dicks for you.
Not talking statuesque.
Just pricks. Ask any diary.'
'I want to be the bullet that crashes the party
of all the women who ever tore through you.'
'Your initials replaced my teeth.
You are everything that smiles about me.'

[Leanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heh, heh, I admit I read this because I used to be a big fan of Amber Tamblyn when she was on General Hospital. I've followed her career since then and I think she is a very talented actress. My sister bought me her book and got it signed, hee! I'm guessing Amber wrote the poems in the book in her early to mid-twenties. Many of the poems have a distinctly adolescent feel (not in a good way--too many vague, hysterical abstractions; also, a lot of unexplored metaphors). However, there are some genuinely original lines in the collection, and her prose poems struck me as the most interesting. Also, some of the later poems in the collection veered away from the adjective and metaphor overload. These more stripped-down, disciplined poems seemed stronger.

All in all, a fun read, with some moments of authentic surprise and creativity, but I will be snobby and say I don't think this would have been published if the author was not a famous actress.

[Shay Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend introduced me to Amber Tamblyn's poetry and I was struck by the little bit that I read and so I bought this book. I wish could say that I liked it as much as I expected to. Tamblyn--daughter of actor Russ Tamblyn and an actress in her own right--truly does have a talent with words. Nothing tired or ordinary ever makes its way into her poetry. Someone who can craft lines like "a vegan blacking out in a glass of milk", "My friends lie to me like a government" and (to a watermelon seed) "I hope you fall in love with a beautiful watering can" has something going on.

However, two things bother me about Bang Ditto. One is, she doesn't seem to have something to say that is worthy of the writing skills she has. The other is that she seems to suffer from the unearned world-weariness common to 20-somethings and especially 20-something writer types. (I know whereof I speak--I was one of them!) Her language and her imagination are plenty enough to grab a reader's attention; she doesn't need the constant mildly vulgar asides and accent on the down side. I'm not suggesting she become some kind of Pollyanna, but we've all had a hangover, Amber. It isn't really very edgy to write about it.

Because she is an actress, there are some interesting pieces having to do with Hollywood, especially the hallucinogenic "The Black Tie Warren." One day, Amber Tamblyn may blow us all away with what she can write, but that time is not yet. She already has the tools, and is worlds better than such celeb "poets" as Richard Thomas, Suzanne Somers and even Jewel, but the substance isn't quite there yet. Watch this space. Until then, don't expect more than she can yet deliver.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second work of poetry for author/actress Amber Tamblyn. I enjoyed the second book so much, and more than the previous. A few years of age can make a big difference in voice and experience and it’s rejuvenating to hear such powerful words coming from someone my age.

There were many amazing works – you can see some examples here – and I wish I had copied some of the lines down before returning the book to the library. This will definitely be one to add to my own collection and I hope to see more works from Amber Tamblyn in the future.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amber's second book of poems are cut deep. Her writing moves on so many levels. Quirky powerful meaty vulnerability.

[Laura Foxworthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a fan of Amber's poetry.

My favorites on this first read?
If You're Going Through Hell
Run On
Roadkill
Oh You

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amber Tamblyn does an interesting job of describing what the life of a young actress is like through her poetry. She has been writing poetry since the age of 11, and most of her poems are directed at young adult women. There are some great metaphors, similes, and humor used in a few of her poems that I think is fun to share:

An Excerpt from "Poriferan"

"Our love was small, like airplane bathrooms
and really only good for one thing: relieving ourselves"

A quote from "Bang Ditto"

"Dear North star and Venus --

I know you don't give a gas about me" (HA!)

A line from "With lots of Salt and Imagination"

"My brain was a bottle
Floating away with a message inside"

While this book had a few moments that made me laugh or reached me somehow, they were overtaken by the clouds of unnecessary innuendo, swearing, and somewhat cryptic metaphors that are difficult to understand. While I understand that these things may have a purpose to her while she was writing it, it sometimes remains unclear where she was going with some of the poems, or what we could get out of them as readers.

I rated this a two, because I personally did not care much for the content, I feel that it would be inappropriate for my future classroom of high schoolers, even though I am sure they would read it anyways.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bang Ditto is Amber Tamblyn's sophmore effort, I can see considerable growth since her first book, Free Stallion. Tamblyn is part of a group of young poets trying to make poetry accessible and relevant to teens and young adults. Although some topics of the poems are very specific to life lived as an actress, the majority are fluid, strong statements about the lives, emotions, and experiences of our generation. Sometimes, hilarious, sometimes sentimental, often wry, Tamblyn's words paint a picture of her life and demonstrate the commonalities in thought and emotion that bridges profession, station in life and in many cases age. She has a way with metaphors and using phrases that paint graphic images that kick you right in the gut.

My one complaint about the book is that I felt the short stories and snippets were lacking the simplistic raw beauty found in her poems. In these it’s as if she’s trying too hard to be funny, instead of painting the picture with carefully chosen words.

[Richard Gartee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber Tamlyn’s Free Stallion came out when she was 21. Many of its poems were probably written when she was much younger than that and their perspective was often from the experiences of an adolescent woman in the adult world. Sure she had the advantages of being mentored by Beat poets like Michael McClure and Jack Hirschman, but even in that first book she showed she was a poet in her own right.
Now comes Bang Ditto four years later, and by then she’s twenty-five. She has matured and her writing has as well. Her vision is clearer and she sees the world around her with the slightly jaundiced eye of someone who has been working Hollywood since she was nine, and learned long ago to accurately assess the people she meets. Somewhere, in some secret journal, she has been taking note about what life has thrown at her and in Bang Ditto has turned them into some powerful poetry.
All I can add is, Amber, give us more.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I take a lot of inspiration from this book of poems and Amber Tamblyn's way of playing with words and metaphors. I love her imagination. This book has a lot to do with her career in the media and in Hollywood, but she talks about her experiences in a different view than expected, with dry humour and very clever metaphors.
This collection is also aimed towards young and middle aged women, as Tamblyn has a few specific messages for them, like in "Dear Demographic"; and because of the poems concering love which really stay with you ("wondering if when he kissed me, did I taste like wasted time" or "Our love was small, like airplane bathrooms/ and really only good for one thing: relieving ourselves"). I loved the imagery her words stir up in my mind and the thought her choice in words provokes. These aren't just ordinary poems. I loved them.

[Lynette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amber Tamblyn is a very talented poet. I would have rated this volume higher if I could say I liked it. Her images, play with words, the vocabulary, and different styles of poetry all show her to be more than competent in the genre. Tamblyn even shows flashes of brilliance. The problem for me is the negativity, the gutter language, the dreary outlook that she puts on display, with lots of pride. I suppose that much of what she writes about is authentic to her, but it also rings melodramatic and displays a faddish need to wallow in the depths of all that is filthy and morbid. There are one or two poems which I liked quite a bit, but out of 62, that is not saying a lot.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

There is no doubt that Amber is very talented. I'm not a huge poetry fan, but i am a fan of Amber so I got the book. Sometimes, poems are just to confusing. While some of Amber's poems were to confusing or didnt make sense, I did really enjoy a few of them and could relate to them. And some were funny.

Some of my favorites include, Dear Demographic, Earthquakes, Subtitles on Children, My Face, Trust Haiku, and Roadkill.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I genuinely liked a total of 3 poems in this book. Mostly, though, I read it just to find some of the most ridiculous lines and read them aloud to the bf.
I really wanted to like this, honestly. But I felt like I was reading a book by someone who wanted to be edgy by using "dirty" words just to cause a stir or get a reaction.
Reading these poems made me feel embarrassed for Tambyln more than anything. I don't think that's the reaction she was going for.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been waiting for this book to come out since I read her first book of poetry and fell in love with it. I got this book at her Book release party in NYC. I got to listen to her recite her poems and even sing with her mom onstage. She is an excellent writer and this book exceeded my expectations. She is also a warm person and appreciates her fans.

[RainbowWriter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark prose-like poetry written with wit and intelligence and complex, abstract language. Amber Tamblyn is a very deep and skillful writer spoken word legend Bob Holman as her mentor and Questlove of The Roots as one of her friends. Reading this book takes a lot time and patience if you truly want to absorb into meanings of her deep and complex metaphors.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect I would have liked this collection of poetry more as a teenager. I hope Amber makes an audio collection of her poetry, listening to her read her work on her book tour helped bring humor into the bitterness.

[Krissy · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is one of the worst books i have ever read. i picked it up at the bookstore one day out of curiosity and kept reading it just to see if the whole thing could possibly be as bad as it is. awful, awful poetry. yuck.

[Sydney Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw her read in October, and I am quite sure that she is one of my heroes. Her reading voice is fantastic, and her poetry is hilarious and insightful. All the stars.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love it, and maybe teen girls and would-be starlets will.

[Destroydecay · Rating 5 out of 5]

After discovering she wrote poetry, I discovered she is a poetry goddess.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of poems. Some were hard to relate to, but my favorites are:

-How my Papa Saved Christmas
-At the Natural History Museum
-Watermelon Seed
-Crossing the World

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to be more impressed with this book.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

bammin' slammin' amazing

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

you should read it.

[Alyssa Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, feisty and gorgeous.

[Gypsie Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, I like the gritty, rawness of this style and her take on life. It's not pretty poetry by any means.

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of poetry by actress/director Amber Tamblyn is interesting. She wrote it in her early 20s, so the topics are very close to a twentysomething life: lovers, travel, drinking, newly experienced sexism, bodies, beauty standards, family, Joy Division, and hearbreak. I especially liked the poems "My Face", "In My Best Anne Sexton Accent", and "If You're Going Through Hell". I do think this was a little slow to get through and a few poems could have been left out, as I grew a bit unmoved by them towards the end of the book. Overall, much better poetry by a celebrity than Jewel's poety book, which I found to be laughable.

[Solita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Poems feel more clever than, well, brilliant. A Hollywood youngster. I read this out of curiosity, because I read somewhere that she is "an acclaimed poet." I don't know. I think privilege goes a long way. Not bad, but...

[Angela Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never enjoyed poetry until now. Amber's words sink into you and leave a lingering sensation, somewhere between a chocolate high and a face down in the gutter hangover. Her poems about LA almost feel like a chapter out of your own life if you have ever lived in the city of Angels.

[Chang Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, hilarious, explicit, and honest.