Campbell McGrath Livres

A major new collection from one of our best loved, most celebrated, and most original poets Deeply personal but also expansive in its imaginative scope, Nouns & Verbs brings together thirty-five years of writing from Campbell McGrath, one of America's most highly lauded poets. Offering a hint of where he's headed while charting the territory already explored, McGrath gives us startlingly inventive new poems while surveying his previous work--lyric poems, prose poems, and a searing episodic personal epic, "An Odyssey of Appetite," exploring America's limitless material and spiritual hungers. Nothing is too large or small to remain untouched by McGrath's voracious intellect and deep empathy--everything from Japanese eggplant to a can of Schaefer beer to the smokestacks of Chicago comes in for a close and perceptive look even as McGrath crosses borders and boundaries, investigating the enduring human experiences of love and loss. A book that stands on its own solid foundation, Nouns & Verbs captures the voice and vision of a truly singular poet.

The book offers a vivid exploration of American culture and landscape, capturing the essence of contemporary society through detailed observations. McGrath's journey spans various settings, from late-night bars to the Mojave Desert, transforming ordinary experiences into profound revelations filled with both joy and melancholy. His compassionate wit and insight invite readers to reflect on the intricacies of daily life, making the commonplace resonate with deeper meaning.

Exploring the complexities of American culture, Campbell McGrath delves into themes of desire and aspiration in his latest collection. The centerpiece, "The Bob Hope Poem," navigates the contradictions of modern life, blending personal reflections with broader societal observations. Through a mix of humor and existential inquiry, McGrath addresses a range of topics from celebrity culture to philosophical musings. His poetry strikes a balance between public discourse and intimate expression, offering a rich tapestry of contemporary American experience.

Exploring diverse locations from Brazil to Manitoba and Las Vegas to Miami Beach, this collection by MacArthur Fellow Campbell McGrath presents a vivid poetics of place intertwined with everyday experiences. The work is both personal and provocative, showcasing McGrath's unique voice and accessibility. Critics have hailed it as his finest work, highlighting his distinction as a leading contemporary poet with a Swiftian flair.

In a whimsical journey, a small ant embarks on an extraordinary adventure beyond its earthly home, exploring the vastness of space. Along the way, it encounters various celestial beings and faces challenges that test its courage and ingenuity. Themes of friendship, perseverance, and the quest for knowledge unfold as the ant discovers the wonders of the universe. This imaginative tale blends science fiction with charming storytelling, appealing to readers of all ages who appreciate stories of exploration and self-discovery.

A major new collection from one of our best loved, most celebrated, and most original poetsDeeply personal but also expansive in its imaginative scope, Nouns & Verbs brings together thirty-five years of writing from Campbell McGrath, one of America’s most highly lauded poets. Offering a hint of where he’s headed while charting the territory already explored, McGrath gives us startlingly inventive new poems while surveying his previous work—lyric poems, prose poems, and a searing episodic personal epic, “An Odyssey of Appetite,” exploring America’s limitless material and spiritual hungers.Nothing is too large or small to remain untouched by McGrath’s voracious intellect and deep empathy—everything from Japanese eggplant to a can of Schaefer beer to the smokestacks of Chicago comes in for a close and perceptive look even as McGrath crosses borders and boundaries, investigating the enduring human experiences of love and loss. A book that stands on its own solid foundation, Nouns & Verbs captures the voice and vision of a truly singular poet.  

Pulitzer Prize finalist A poetic history of the twentieth century from one of our most beloved, popular, and highly lauded poets—a stirring, strikingly original, intensely imagined recreation of the most potent voices and searing moments that have shaped our collective experience. XX is award-winning poet Campbell McGrath’s astonishing sequence of one hundred poems—one per year—written in a vast range of forms, and in the voices of figures as varied as Picasso and Mao, Frida Kahlo and Elvis Presley. Based on years of historical research and cultural investigation, XX turns poetry into an archival inquiry and a choral documentary. Hollywood and Hiroshima, Modernism and propaganda, Bob Dylan and Walter Benjamin—its range of interest encompasses the entire century of art and culture, invention and struggle. Elegiac and celebratory, deeply tragic and wickedly funny, XX is a unique collection from this acknowledged master of historical poetry, and his most ambitious book yet.

Exploring the complexities of American culture, the poems delve into the various appetites that define society, capturing a landscape filled with both humor and gravity. Through diverse forms like terza rima and rock-and-roll elegies, the work reflects on the intricate relationship between the self and the collective experience. This collection marks a significant evolution for McGrath, blending formal elegance with powerful rhetoric, ultimately presenting a vibrant commentary on the chaos of contemporary life.

A collection of profound and piercing poems from a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize about navigating the modern world in search of beauty that will endure Fever of Unknown Origin opens at a remote crossroads, where the speaker considers the intersection of history, beauty, and destruction: “the past / is paper / and the present, a match . . .” What follows is an urgent tour of landscapes—environmental, political, and personal—that reframes our perception of modern America and leads the reader into “An empire of rags and photons” where we must look to the past to clarify our futures. With sublime wit and a Whitmanian eye, McGrath delivers a stunning collection of warnings, love letters, and praise songs for all that manages to weather the perennial pressures of time: frog ponds, stadium rubble, and the endless cycle of seasons, which usher us deeper into an era we cannot yet know.

From the MacArthur genius grant and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner Campbell McGrath, an electric new collection of poetry that asks us to love what lasts amid the detritus of American culture After nearly a decade, In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys marks a return for Campbell McGrath to the poetic forms that brought him national acclaim—lyrical meditations on American art and society by turns satirical, tender, and haunted by the merciless work of time. In poems such as "Dick Cheney Speaks to Me in a Dream" and "Shopping for Pomegranates at Wal-Mart on New Year's Day," McGrath explores the intersection of the personal and the public realms of American culture like no other poet at work today. Whether he's documenting the decay and transformation of American cities, eulogizing Allen Ginsberg and Frank O'Hara, or rhapsodizing on the extramortal lifespan of books, McGrath writes poems of dazzling energy, intelligence, humor, and engagement. In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys is a collection of dreams, visions, jibes, essays, arguments, and love songs, each of them transformed into poetry by one of our most honored and entertaining poets.