Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive: Poems

by Patrick Rosal

The debut collection from a vibrant, streetwise Winner of the 2002 Members' Choice Award from the Asian American Writers Workshop.

Patrick Rosal's poetry rings with the music of no-frills industrial towns of central New Jersey. Portraits of hip-hoppers and condemned men (whose misdeeds as boys forever shaped their futures) alternate with dynamic riffs on longingsexual and filialand on the poet's Filipino roots. Unpredictable and breathtaking as a sax solo, these poems are the indelible marks made by a world that has been simultaneously kept close and left behind.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rahadyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty and thoughtful poems by a Filipino-American writer.

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough about how much I love Rosal's poetry. He manages to take the gritty and make it into something lyrical, while still maintaining its edginess. His poems are incredibly honest and moving, completely accessible yet surprising. I find myself being able to swim in his words, bury myself into a few lines of his poetry. This was Rosal's first book of poetry -- and I'm completely envious at not just his ability to surprise and move with language, but also at how keen and mature his eye is at painting truths in each of his poems. Love.

[ryo narasaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love what junot diaz says abt this book on the back cover: "part immigrant-song, bildungsroman, family-chronicle, and love story..."

very passionate. some very beautiful language in "igneous," "litany of the missing cheekbone," and "b-boy infinitives"

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems made my heart flutter in a "jesus, I want to write this well" kind of way.