Conditions
A read copy, but remains in excellent condition.
Formats
Conditions
A read copy, but remains in excellent condition.
"America's epic is the odyssey of appetite," Campbell McGrath declares, and these poems track those defining hungers across a social landscape by turns "grave, risible, amazing, banal," cataloging the "vortex of images in a ruined theater the culture comes to resemble," from Rocky and Bullwinkle to "Blue Angels rampant on a field of static, / anthem and flag descending to darkness." In terza rima meditations, rock-and-roll elegies, and abecedarian lyrics, Pax Atomica documents the tangled romance between self and society ("in which / the melody's ampersand ensnares us") in ways both new and familiar to readers of McGrath's five previous volumes. A continuation as well as a departure for one of America's most highly honored poets, this is poetry of formal eloquence and rhetorical power, of vision and engagement. Pax Atomicadescends into the maelstrom of American culture and emerges singing.
What is really great about this book is how the poems can effortlessly dwell between blue collar grit and intellectual linguistic abstraction. McGrath's wordplay is great fun and these poems are engaging and worth rereading.
I am prepared to hail Campbell McGrath as a master of resounding images and a social commentator extraordinaire; a poet with a powerful voice. Made me laugh, made me think. He will impress you with his outstanding and varied intellect - from geology to music, art, and T.V., and back again to botany. McGrath's pieces are enjoyable and gratifying on multiple levels. He demonstrates a love of words and exhibits variance of structure that adds to each piece's individuality; and while he exercises an assortment of tones, the book in its entirety is a cohesive work. I found his observations poignant, his opinions fascinating, and his book thoroughly engaging. Everyone I really like is getting a copy of Pax Atomica for Christmas.
Campbell McGrath's Pax Atomica is full of $1.50 words and a mish-mash of cultural references, everything from The Ramones to Harleys, to Clint Eastwood to Da Vinci. His poems are lyrical and humorous, fun to read while also accomplishing commentary on American Culture. If you love poetry that comments on modern times and is accessible, then you should read this book!
