The New Pornography

By Patrick Chapman

Eavan Boland, writing in Poetry Ireland Review, praised Patrick Chapman's "real gifts for rhythmic shock treatment and offbeat diction", describing him as "one of the very compelling voices" of the new generation of Irish poets. This equally sharp and confident second collection explores strange new directions and bizarre themes, in poems about America, viruses, a fear of falling satellites, and the uterus as a birthday present.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1897648774
• ISBN13: 9781897648773
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Salmon Poetry
• Length: 68 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.9" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Pat Chapman Bares His Soul

New Castle, Pennsylvania has long been known as a violent, unforgiving wasteland. A place that would make even the most jaded resident of war-torn Liberia or Chechnya weep in horror. Therefore it is astonishing that a poet of such magnificent sensitivity and optimism could have arisen from these mean streets. Yet Pat Chapman has done exactly that, and he has gifted mankind with this wonderful collection filled with heartfelt passion and human dignity. Whether he is describing a chance encounter with Jerry Tarkanian at the OTB ("Redemption"), a trip to the state liquor store with a local wino ("Nectar and Ambrosia"), or the unbridled intensity of forbidden homosexual lust ("Night Moves"), Chapman is crafting a poem whose every syllable tugs at the reader's heartstrings. It truly beggars belief that Chapman is so consistently able to find such beauty in the bleak cesspool of New Castle. If those who spread hate and fear in our world today would only read a single poem from The New Pornography, they would understand what it is to be human, and maybe peace on earth could be achieved. I cannot recommend this classic highly enough.