The Porcupine's Kisses

by Stephen Dobyns

Book Overview

Stephen Dobyns is one of America's most respected poets; his manner is tart and often sardonic, his language tough, funny, yet at heart profoundly humane. In his eleventh book of poetry he pushes the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142002445
• ISBN13: 9780142002445
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

One Liners

Comedy had henny Youngman flipping out one liners, poetry has Stephen Dobyns. The one liners are pithy to the extreme but make you think---"Humane:Thinks Twice" or "He loved in order to be increased, not in order to love." They are perhaps bits and pieces of ideas he had for longer poems. But whatever they are, or from whatever source they sprung, thet are welcome from one of our great(but too often overlooked) artists.

Incredible insights in few words...

I am surprised by those reviews stating disappointment in this unique collection. As a lifelong fan of Dobyns' work, I believe that this combination of prose-poem and short, often sentence-long insights is one of his most potent efforts to date. So many of them capture large truths in brief outcroppings of words that I am left with a sense of the tremendous potential of language to connect us. The illustrations by Howie Michels are clearly created with an understanding of Dobyns' work. They render the author's verbal imagination into the pictorial realm without overstatement. As with Velocities, Cemetary Nights, and The Balthus Poems, this book is already becoming heavily dogeared, and appears destined to be one I read many times. A strong performance from my literary hero.

Half Great Dobyns, Half Kind of Silly

I wasn't exactly blown away by Dobyn's last novel, so I was very anxious to read his new poetry. I must say that I was by no means let down when I picked up this book. The first half, comprised of aphorisms and short paragraphs, is some of the best prose I've read in a long while. Dobyns descriptions of his own mannerisms, beliefs, and regrets are very powerful. He is one of those writers with the ability to take something personal and make it seem universal. Most of these poems resonate, with a few clunkers - I am unable to pick a favorite.The second half of the book is comprised of what I can only term "daffynitions", which have considerably less impact. They are by no means terrible - I'm particularly fond of his definition of a doctor as "ignorance in a white coat" - but they lack the power of his normal writing. They are, in essence, Dobyns' throw-away one-liners, and should be read as such.All told, a solid work, and more than enough to tide the reader over until Dobyns' next effort.

Poetry Plus

THE PORCUPINE'S KISSES is not just a book of poetry, but a work of textual art. The pages are busy. Part One-- "Prose Poems and Considerations" is divided into right page, left page sections; Part Two-- "Definitions" is alphabetical. Throughout the text are illustrations, line drawings and wood cuts by Howie Michels. It is unorthodox-- a well thought out, creative collaboration by two men.In fact, that is its most obvious feature: its masculinity. Dobyns' humor is dark, indelible. His point of view is sharp and detached. There is something clearly MAN about this book-- not at all to disparage the value of the work. It is compassionate, shy, sometimes grotesque. It can be out-loud laughably funny, and it comes from a completely isolated place, a thoughtful autumn of a man's life. The nature of its layout can force readers to move through this book in an unconventional way. The two sections, the illustrations, and then alphabetical listings suggest alternative ways to read and look. It is possible to maneuver through considerations: "Pimple boasts of being a boil." "That he was weak became his strongest defense." Or look up odd Definitions as if in a dictionary. "Impotent: nubbins redux." "Uglier: the children of your friends." It is also possible to travel through the book, motivated by the illustrations-- keen renderings of Dobyns's writing and his quirky personality.The playful intellect at the center of his prose poems is most attractive. Dobyns' poems are somber but humorous, have a sense of exile, a wistful for once was that is deeply moving and beautifully human.