Cutty, One Rock: Low Characters and Strange Places, Gently Explained

by August Kleinzahler

Cutty, One Rock takes the reader on a wild journey by airplane, bus, ferry, and foot from childhood to early manhood in the company of a New Jersey family in equal measures cultivated and deranged. We witness scenes of passionate, even violent intensity that give rise to meditations on eros and literature, the solitariness of travel, and the poetics of place.

These individual pieces, most of which first appeared in The London Review of Books and won an international cult following, are by turns "poignant, surreal, down home and lyrical, a mixture of qualities that inheres in his language with uncommon delicacy and effect" (Leonard Michaels). Together they make up an intellectual and emotional autobiography on the run. The book's final section, about Kleinzahler's adored, doomed older brother, is unforgettable, and since its appearance last year in the LRB , has already entered the literature as one of the most moving contemporary memoirs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Essays

168 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2004

About the author

August Kleinzahler was born in Jersey City in 1949. He is the author of eleven books of poems and a memoir, "Cutty, One Rock." His collection "The Strange Hours Travelers Keep" was awarded the 2004 Griffin Poetry Prize, and "Sleeping It Off in Rapid City" won the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award. That same year he received a Lannan Literary Award. His new collection, "The Hotel Oneira," will be published by FSG October 1st, 2013. He lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i often think that we’re all mere composites of our favorite people’s habits: the way we talk and gesture and laugh, how we comb our hair and walk.

new jersey-born poet august kleinzahler’s writing is possessed of both character and spirit. cutty, one rock, a collection of a dozen, largely autobiographical essays, offers examples of this dexterity in spades. whether holding court about poetry, the mob, sex, san francisco, talented poets (and otherwise!), youthful indiscretions, childhood memories, friendship, bars and drinking, riding the bus, or whatever else, reading kleinzahler’s prose is like being in the company of that one friend who always manages to turn every story, however seemingly mundane at first, into a rapt tale you wouldn’t want to miss a single second of. with strong opinions, a sharp sense of humor, and the sort of sass and delectable insolence endemic to the garden state, kleinzahler’s essays are eminently gratifying.

the book’s final entry — “cutty, one rock,” about his older brother’s suicide in 1971 — is an altogether exceptional piece of writing. recounting with candor and veneration, kleinzahler conveys his brother’s brief, troubled, but also beautifully wild life in a way that is eloquent and elegiac.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kleinzahler writes with deliberation. I also imagine, not knowing him personally, that if he owned a rifle and was apt to shoot someone, he wouldn't be the take a kneecap out and wait for the cops type of guy. This collection is memoir, nine essays about him, the poet, his life, his ideas. I don't normally go for memoir, but this is dynamite, unpretentious, quite loving, and always rises above merely himself. All autobiography should have such aims. Included here, as well, is his scathing indictment of Garrison Keillor and his "Writer's Almanac" way, his Lake Woebegone sensibility. This essay is my favorite, an accomplishment I don't take lightly as I have a soft spot for Keillor. But this is spot-on, and, above all, makes a case for not making a case for poetry. If the heathens don't want it, fine. We're still going to read it.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

August Kleinzahler takes his story telling skills from the USA to the Netherlands when telling the tale of divorcing parents of two brothers who are then living on separate continents. Five years later the brother are reunited in Amsterdam and living at their father's home. The night life of Amsterdam is perfect for two young men eager for adventure, sex, drugs, & Dutch coffee bars.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my memoir reading group. Very powerful, fresh voice. I loved the first and the last essays in particular-powerful story telling in a unique and surprising voice. I also loved the essay about a San Francisco bar in the Haight, a place I would hate, but I loved the detailed description, and the love with which Kleinzahler conveyed the place and its proprietor. Very moving and surprising material. The author is totally authentically himself, take it or leave it, it's of no consequence to him - at least that's how it feels reading it. And that's how writing should be, I think. Isn't that the point, to tell our story, in whatever manner and form we choose. And if someone else can get something out of it, all the better. But we write first and foremost for ourselves; at least that's why I write. Sounds selfish to read it here, but surely our creativity is about discovering ourselves first, and because we are ultimately all connected within the larger creation, it's not selfish at all, unless directed in a selfish way, or in a way meant to hurt or belittle others. Well, I'm getting away from Kleinzahler here, except that his book leads me to these reflections. If you want to be surprised, and moved, check this book out.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine collection of essays and memoirs, the best being the first (about being raised by the family dog) and last (about his love for his deceased brother) and the most tedious being the artsy one on “Eros and Poetry”. Sharp observations, sometimes funny, and other moments rather too like 1950s bohemian macho strutting

[Cooch]

Shot from the hip

Kleinzahler tells the truth as he sees it. He pulls no punches. Only a poet and a wordsmith could have written this book. Like all of the greatest writing it provokes controversy and so you will either love it or hate it.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just perfect. Funny, moving, never sentimental, vivid in every sense. The real deal. And I’ve never even read any of his poetry.

[David Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine collection about writing, poetry, travel, brothers and being a brother, and, under it all, being from north Jersey.

[Stop]

Read the STOP SMILING interview with August Kleinzahler:

He Sees Things in Waves: 10 Questions for poet August Kleinzahler
by Ange Mlinko

(This interview originally appeared in the first annual STOP SMILING 20 Interviews Issue)

August Kleinzahler has worked as taxi driver, locksmith, logger, building manager and music critic. But he is most famous for his 10 books of poems, including the 2004 Griffin Poetry Prize winner, The Strange Hours Travelers Keep (FSG). His autobiographical essays are collected in Cutty, One Rock: Low Characters and Strange Places, Gently Explained, whose title alone evokes his signature dive-bar/chevalier aesthetic — a kind of mash-up of Raymond Chandler and Robert Herrick.

Born in Jersey City in 1949, raised in Fort Lee (which named him poet laureate last year), Kleinzahler settled in San Francisco but has remained itinerant. He has taught most recently at the University of Texas at Austin, and was awarded a fellowship in Berlin in 2000. Accepting the Griffin Prize, Kleinzahler wrote, “My ideal reader is a taxi driver in Karachi.” It wasn’t a wisecrack. He went on to imagine an Everyman negotiating traffic in an ancient city of 15 million who is nevertheless a connoisseur of the evening light; who owns obscure pamphlets by poets of small cult presses; who is eclectic and genuine. “Poetry is the most difficult and demanding of the literary arts. It is also the oldest and most enduring, and despite rumors to the contrary, is not about to go away anytime soon. Long after the art novel, as we know it, is gone, we shall have poetry.”

Kleinzhaler was about to hop on a plane to South Dakota when we spoke by phone. Between the state’s geophysical anomalies and decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles, he thought there might be a poem somewhere in there...

Read the complete STOP SMILING interview with August Kleinzahler...

[John Goodell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cutty, One Rock is one of the more intimate books I've read as of late. I'm currently a student of August's and so have a predisposed bias since I know him more personally than most who have or will read this book. The book flows in an unconventional sense, with the first 120 pages or so devoted to his recounting of places and experiences in San Francisco and San Diego, and his childhood in New Jersey. I guess you could call it a biography, but that wasn't how I approached the book before I read it.

The last chapter, Cutty, One Rock, is almost hauntingly personal in both style and content. It details August's relationship with his older brother, one I find strikingly similar to my own relationship with mine. August and his brother seem to bond and connect on a level much deeper and complex than the average human does with anyone else. It goes beyond familial ties, his brother serves as August's purest of influences, one of the few people August seems to truly connect to and appreciate in the book. His brother, on the other hand, is brilliant yet troubled, a fish lost in the grand sea that is New York City. Together they roam the homosexual underworld of Greenwich Village and seem to occupy a space and time outside of conventional reality.

Simply put, August's work is touching and left me reflecting on my own life and relationships. He's a charming writer, but has found a way to connect the reader with his own life and travels in a manner that only a skilled poet could. I only wish August had (or will) publish more work like this, not just poetry.

[Yhwithers · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are probably wondering what the first part of the book's title means, it has something to do with a drink is a hint.
Much of the book concerns the author and his brother. At times both aren't too likeable and the author does crucify 1980's? NZ and it's people a bit too much in one section of the book. (He also appears to confuse Maori and Samoan people too). Still, if you can stand reading about people who can be violent, drink a lot and occasionally do drugs, etc, this is your book!
Imagine a more serious David Sedaris, with a more violent family and you have a semblance of what this book is about. But there is a lot more to it eg. life in S. Fran, N.Y., travelling, relationships, love of literature and poetry, etc.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALvin leant me this book. most of Kleinzahler's other books are poetry, so I'm glad to have read his essay type collection, one of my favorite forms. He is awesome, descriptive, non self pitying,poetry within prose is my fave. I think he's talking about Jim Nesbit in one piece, and I now want to tackle on of the books Nesbit gave me, he's a noir writer who is ignored here mostly but super big in Europe. He is chatty, friendly, articulate, and not pathetic,unlike other old timey SF writers I could mention but will refrain from as this is a book review.

[Cortney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars for the title story, three for the rest. Most of these essays stayed in the realm of the glib. Most of these essays I had fun reading, but couldn't recall the next day. The redemption for the bulk of this collection was in the wonderful and smart sentences.

Ex: "Christianity turned Eros into the harmless little rubicund fatty of Valentine's cards."

See...it's fun to read, but then it floats away like a little fluffball later...

Oh, but the title story was brilliant. Just funny and off-putting enough to make the serious stuff resonate that much more deeply.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw August Kleinzahler interviewed last week, and I found him funny and charming. He reminded me of a poet I once dated, in a way. I've never been much for poetry, but I was compelled enough by the interview to check out this book, which I believe is Kleinzahler's only book of prose. Parts of it were as charming and witty as the author, parts a bit boring. I would say that Kleinzahler becomes less charming and more self-absorbed as the book goes on, but the final essay redeems him somewhat.

[Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Kleinzahler is one of the best writers I have ever encountered. I'd never heard of him but read the last chapter ("Cutty, One Rock") in the book on a London literary website. It was so powerful that I had to read the whole thing. I was not disappointed. About half the articles deal with his family and childhood. I have never laughed out loud so much in my life. Not all the pieces are funny, the one about his adored older brother is tragic but inevitable. I couldn't put it down.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of this author until the San Francisco episode of the TV show "No Reservations". I enjoyed the excepts I heard, and decided to check out the book.

I loved these stories. August Klieinzahler is a master observer. Stories range from an essay on Eros, recollections of his mobster neighbors in New Jersey, a bus ride in San Diego, a flight across The Pacific Ocean, and a bar in San Francisco. All of it is vastly entertaining.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book is how I imagine a wonderful cocktail party being. Talking to the coolest guy I ever met who's saying stuff I couldn't even imagine, while sipping martinis. Then magically I wake up without a hangover.

[Nln · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title essay is perhaps the best eulogy I've read or heard. I've not read Kleinzahler's poems, but his voice in these essays is unsparing and minutely observed. We should all be so lucky to have this kind of story told about us after we're gone.

[Paul Wilner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stay away from Fort Lee, New Jersey

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written essays, mostly autobiographical. This fellow is a poet, originally from New Jersey, and it shows in his perspective on life.

[George Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poet's brilliance. Clear as the promise of that first drink.

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous. I want to get a copy for everyone I know.

Slightly More Detailed Review

[Iniville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem sent to me by a friend from New York. Kleinzahler lives in San Francisco so a lot of his pieces are set there.

[cbw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last story makes all the other stories worthwhile.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

almost kicked out of my book group due to this recommendation.