For James Richardson, poetry is serious and speculative play for both
intellect and imagination... [He] makes familiar scenes strange enough
to provoke new and startling insights.--National Book Award Judges
James Richardson is . . . a poet who earned his reputation as a master
of imagery and concision.--The Christian Science Monitor
[O]ne of America's most distinctive contemporary poets . . . a
powerful and moving body of work that in its intimacy and philosophical
naturalism is unique in contemporary American poetry.--Boston Review
James Richardson's poetry is . . . unusual, quirky, personal, and
profound.--The Threepenny Review
In this seriously playful new collection, James Richardson enters into
underused and forgotten places in our emotional spectrum to revive lost
feelings. His breathtaking skill with aphorisms open portals of new
perspective to refresh us with their humor and make the familiar
reinvigorated with the blessedly strange.
From Big Scenes:
And what was King Kong ever going to do
with Fay Wray, or Jessica Lange,
but climb, climb, climb and get shot down?
No wonder Gulliver's amiably chatting
with that six-inch woman in his palm.
Desire's huge, there's really nowhere to put it
in this small world that it will stay put:
might as well just talk...
James Richardson is the author of eight books of poetry, including
By the Numbers, which was a National Book Award finalist, and his
poems appear regularly in The New Yorker. He is a professor of English
and creative writing at Princeton University and lives in New Jersey.
