Any Rough Times Are Now Behind You: Selected Poems and Writing : 1979-1995

By Dave Alvin

Any Rough Times Are Now Behind You: Selected Poems and Writing : 1979-1995 This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1884615090
• ISBN13: 9781884615092
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Incommunicado Press
• Length: 161 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Dave Alvin - Any Rough Times Are Now Behind You

Any Friend of Charles Bukowski 's is worth taking a look at. This work stands alone, Alvin has said what most can't.One Great Read.Savagebooks.net

He's been there, and he'll take you there, too.

There is ALWAYS a Dave Alvin CD in my car, the man is a pure genius. The poetry's just as good as the songs are. If you've ever looked at the moon from a cheap hotel room, you'll feel right at home here. The man writes the truth.

American Poetry

Dave Alvin is one of the 'new' 'stars' of the American music movement. Turns out he isn't all that new to that style of music and being a 'star' doesn't even fill a bar on a weekday night (outside of Austin and LA). His genius is in the evocative power of the lyrics that affectionately call to mind a picture of working America that was only hinted at by Bruce Springsteen in the mid-seventies.His book of poems examines the same bars, bedrooms, and highways painting an America of broken dreams, broken promises and, at the same time, enduring passion and amazing potential. He has a rare eye for word painting the seemingly common and bringing the emotional content to the fore.Well worth buying and well worth re-reading. Do yourself a favor and also buy the CD King of California as it covers much of the same territory.

I did not want to finish...

...when i picked up this book i was captured by the very first poem. dave alvin is an amazing storyteller, letting you step into places from his past and leaving you with impressions of places you've never been and people you feel like you know. i can't wait for him to finish his next book!

A songwriter shows that his poetry doesn't require music

Slowly but surely, this poetry collection has become my most-read book. Alvin is best known as a guitarist and songwriter (he was a founding member of the Blasters and has worked as a solo artist for the past decade), but he uses poetry to hash out the thoughts that later become songs. Fans will enjoy tracing the paths those thoughts take--this collection's "Fourth of July in the Dark" exposes the origins of the song "Fourth of July"--but even those who have never heard of Alvin will appreciate his bluesy writing style and his harsh, often unflattering unhonesty