Rate this book

Lighthead (2010)

by Terrance Hayes(Favorite Author)

4.15 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0143116967 (ISBN13: 9780143116967)

languge

English

genre

Poetry

publisher

Penguin Books

review 1: I'm sad to say that this just isn't my kind of poetry. I'm a bit lazy; I don't want deep layers of references that I don't get. I want poems that speak to me quickly and powerfully, like a punch to the gut or a twist of the heart. I got through about half of this collection, and there were a couple pieces that did that -- one that I saved in its entirety, in fact -- but mostly this style just wasn't the right fit for me.
review 2: This collection joins *Blood Honey* and *A Mayan Astronomer in Hell’s Kitchen* in Sean’s five-star club. Fantastic poetry, this. Though Hayes’ titles aren’t as outright entertaining as Espada’s, they have a kind of subtle sarcasm in them. Though Hayes’ content is more confusing than Bloch’s, it’s also far less gloom... morey. Hayes carries the stamina of Espada and combines it with the retrospection of Bloch; but moving away from these comparisons, to put it simply, this collection is just plain fascinating to me.When the intro poem references The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there is bound to be something in the poem that connects to the geek in me. Douglas Adams had a unique ability to make the mundane into something interesting, and I think that is Lighthead’s purpose – to show the silliness and subjectivity of everything we take as serious or as objective fact. Take “The Elegant Tongue,” for example; here, the reader gets the rambling thoughts of someone French-kissing… African myth, body metaphor, and the narrator’s feelings all mix and move from a basic action to a new understanding. “A House is Not a Home,” and “Fish Head for Katrina” both are further examples of this drama written onto boring life. This touches on what it means to write poetry.I also really appreciate Hayes’ poetic style and his presentation format. There is a rhythm to the presentation in this collection, and it keeps a movement between couplet- or triplet-based, narrative-based, and the “pecha kucha” poems. As a collection, I think this is a very well edited and carefully chosen selection of poems.Very cool. less

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