Deconstruction of the Blues

OUT OF PRINT

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“Brilliant. “Writing About Writing.” And death. And existence. The mystery of self and others, the connections between us. “life this hot painted wandering burning to burn / the book of itself.” Exquisite comedy and play of language. Richard Silberg is the rare philosopher linguist poet with humor and great heart. “how it sucks our souls out between / our teeth to write it to you / dear reader these words.” Yes, and “what joy!” You will finish this book, dear reader, “feeling unreasonably happy.” All are wonderful but there are some truly astounding poems here.”— Sharon Doubiago

“Once you get on the Silberg road and walk with Osip Mandelstam, whose courageous word-glory gains him a Stalinist death, and laugh with Richard as Little Boy Blue nudged by his poignantly extravagant Silver Mountain mama, and sigh with Liz in Cambridge, whom he woos one summer with shoplifted steaks, and joy with uniquely shouting Frank O’Hara, you cannot get off this personal and literary memoir. His deconstruction is a surge of verse, as colorful as Joseph’s coat under a fish belly moon. He takes you from old loves and sleazy cathouses of youth to clinics of the grotesque and portraits of disturbing aspiration. Richard Silberg’s each page is wonder, culminating in a fiercely tender prose poem, “Back Home.” — Willis Barnstone, author of Life Watch and The Gnostic Bible