Collected Poems by Ron Padgett

Collected Poems Reviews

• 
  Janet

  Voluminous!
  
  It Turns Out
  
  I haven't turned out
  to be the person
  I hoped I would,
  but that's just
  too damned bad.
• 
  A. Collins

  Four of the poems used in Paterson appear in this, and there's a lot of other gold too.
  
  Disgruntled Man
  
  I brush the hair located on the right side of my head,
  I brush it beautifully,
  thinking of you. Then
  I notice that the hair on the left side
  is standing slightly higher than on the
  right, and my head appears to be lopsided.
  I don't want it to look that way.
  So I begin to brush down the left side,
  grimly, with a sense of
  purpose devoid of pleasure
  that drips down the well wall
  toward some deep, dark, and cool pool
  in which only peace is reflected.
  
  Soon my head is in balance,
  but it has become a head brushed for bad reasons
  and I do not like the face I see.
  A man disgruntled
  with the way he brushed his hair.
• 
  Gavin

  Ron Padgett is without a doubt my favourite poet after reading this collection. He has a very light and carefree sensibility to his work and finds a way to perfectly balance comedy and absurdity with genuine emotional insight. I'm sad to have finally finished this huge collection because it was such a treat - I already plan on rereading it sometime soon.
• 
  Marianne Frenhofer

  Li esse livro por causa do filme Paterson, de Jim Jarmusch. Ron Padgett escreveu quase todos os poemas que aparecem no filme, com exceção do que a menina lê para Paterson, escrito pelo próprio Jarmusch.
  Estou apaixonada pela forma como Padgett escreve, e como ele nos inspira a querer também escrever. Tudo é poesia, e eu acredito nisso. Comprei esse volume porque ele me pareceu o mais completo, e realmente é muito bom. Uma pena não ter tradução para português (se é que isso é possível em poesia - discussão eterna). Recomendo.
• 
  Mary Kennedy

  Horray!
• 
  João Ribeiro

  “We have plenty of matches in our house
  We keep them on hand always
  Currently our favourite brand
  Is Ohio Blue Tip
  Though we used to prefer Diamond Brand
  That was before we discovered
  Ohio Blue Tip matches
  They are excellently packaged
  Sturdy little boxes
  With dark and light blue and white labels
  With words lettered
  In the shape of a megaphone
  As if to say even louder to the world
  Here is the most beautiful match in the world
  It’s one-and-a-half-inch soft pine stem
  Capped by a grainy dark purple head
  So sober and furious and stubbornly ready
  To burst into flame
  Lighting, perhaps the cigarette of the woman you love
  For the first time
  And it was never really the same after that
  All this will we give you
  That is what you gave me
  I become the cigarette and you the match
  Or I the match and you the cigarette
  Blazing with kisses that smoulder towards heaven.”
• 
  josé almeida

  trata-se da recolha de tudo o que o poeta norte-americano escreveu até 2013, em quase 800 páginas que demonstram sem margem de dúvida por que razão padgett é um dos grandes nomes da poesia actual. a disposição segue uma ordem cronológica, permitindo observar a evolução da sua escrita, desde o alinhamento à chamada segunda geração da new york school dos anos 60-70 até ao emergir de uma voz própria (que ele parodia), onde a observação irónica e um humor especial na desconstrução de regras caminham lado a lado com um lirismo mais formal mas sempre surpreendente. é um livro de cabeceira, para ir degustando aos poucos e ao longo dos próximos tempos. foi editada recentemente uma colectânea bilingue de poemas seus, na assírio e alvim. para quem não lê inglês, vale a pena começar por aí.
• 
  Richard Subber

  Udderly unappealing.
  
  I dare to imagine that Ron Padgett would appreciate my post-Romantic attempt to critique his poetry in a jive kind of way.
  You can try Collected Poems.
  See what you think.
  
  Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
  
  www.richardsubber.com