Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The title of the first poem the way the light reflects sets the stage, and siken begins. The paint doesnt move the way the light reflects, so whats there to be faithful to. The language of the birds a man saw a bird and found him beautiful.
In this muchanticipated second book, richard siken seeks definite answers to indefinite questions. The erotic energy and dazzling infatuation that drove crush are replaced in war of the foxes with frustrations about the impossibility of creating pure and true artistic representations. Noteyou can read two of richards poems in the latest issue of tin house peter mishler. To ask other readers questions about war of the foxes, please sign up. The poems in war of the foxes are mostly about painting. Richard siken war of the foxes pdf download by senrockdinsdel. Im reading the poems of richard siken and am totally intrigued but am unable to identify why exactly. Its hard not to read the new volume against the first, especially because the there are few books this year, if any, i have been more excited about than richard sikens new collection war of the foxes. Nov 09, 2016 richard sikens second collection of poems is centered around the idea of painting. If crush was about panic, then war of the foxes is about transformation. Dec 03, 2014 it has been ten years since richard sikens first collection crush was selected for the yale series of younger poets.
I clawed my way into the light but the light is just as scary. The way the light reflects landscape with a blur of conquerors landscape with fruit rot and millipede birds hover the trampled field detail of the hayfield the language of the birds stilllife with skulls and bacon landscape with several small fires detail of the fire war of the foxes portrait of fryderyk in shifting light three proofs ghost, zero, suitcase, and the moon logic lovesong of the. Publishers weekly war of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard siken s first book, crush. He was unable to speak in complete sentences or move the right side of his body. If you like siken, you already know youll have to read this. Sometimes the man felt like the bird and sometimes the man felt like a stonesolid, inevitablebut mostly he felt like a bird, or that there was a bird inside him, or that something inside him was like a bird fluttering.
Fervor reduces thought to shorthand and all we get is an icon, observes richard siken in his muchanticipated followup to his first book, crush. Siken describes the poem as a sideways take on trauma. He is the author of the collection crush yale university press, 2005, which won the yale series of younger poets competition in 2004. In her profile of siken, nell casey wrote, he effectively juxtaposes holy wishes with mundane imagesmaking them. Read war of the foxes by richard siken for free with a 30 day free trial. He is the author of the collection crush yale university press, 2005, which won the yale series of. Richard siken is the author of war of the foxes copper canyon press, 2015 and crush yale university press, 2006, which won the yale series of younger poets award in 2004. His second book of poems, war of the foxes, was released from copper canyon press in 2015. Tell me about your forthcoming book, war of the foxes. Author interview richard siken, author of war of the foxes.
Richard siken is an american poet, painter, and filmmaker. And you feel like youve done something terrible, like robbed a liquor store, or swallowed pills, or shoveled yourself a grave in the dirt, and youre tired. I say it to the paint war of the foxes, copper canyon. In this second book due out in april 2015 with copper canyon press, richard siken. A lot of poems in richard sikens war of the foxes could be called ekphrastic. In her profile of siken, nell casey wrote, he effectively juxtaposes holy wishes with mundane imagesmaking them both seem beautiful by some strange lyrical alchemy. Hes using painting as a way to examine self expression, looking at a painting as a way to. Richard sikens book of poetry, war of the foxes, explores the inner and subjective world of emotions, selfperception, and the imperfect pursuit of artistic expression. Richard sikens second collection, coming a decade after his yale younger poets prizewinning debut crush, finds the poet a subdued man with more mature preoccupations. War of the foxes is sikens first collection of poems since crush. War of the foxes, richard sikens second collection of poems, begins. War of the foxes by richard siken book read online scribd. In the way the light reflects, siken writes, i have my body and you have yours.
Litany in which certain things are crossed out by poetry. The brain injury, as is often the case, left him agitated, fearful, and confused. Come up to me after the reading and ill recite a line or two for you. Apr 28, 2015 war of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard sikens first book, crush. Where crush is mostly rough, obsessed, and eager to encapsulate the lover with its ravaging arms, war of the foxes drinks up the lover through glances and stares from afar frequently with a brush and canvas at hand. Richard sikens book of poetry, war of the foxes, explores the inner and subjective world of emotions, selfperception, and the imperfect pursuit. In this second book, siken takes breathtaking control of the rich, varied material he has chosen. War of the foxes, richard sikens second collection of poems, begins where his debut collection crush left off the body. This may be the most anticipated poetry book of the last decade.
Sometimes brutal, sometimes tender, richard siken has created another formidable, living work of poetry that will reinforce his reputation as one of the most exciting poets writing today. The need for making by kathleen rooney poetry foundation. In his longawaited followup to crush, yale younger poet awardwinner richard siken has created a collection of stunning power and beauty. Were delighted to feature in this issue on trauma a single poem by the awardwinning poet richard siken, whose first collection of poems crush is an obsessive exploration of the subject. Poem in psychology tomorrow poem in the awl three poems at poems, articles and more at poetry foundation author website. Pleased to discover that copper canyon press will soon release his second book war of. As siken writes in the poem landscape with fruit rot and millipede. Detail of the fire will be included in sikens forthcoming collection war of foxes. On march 15th, poet richard sikenauthor of crush and war of the foxes, editor at spork presshad a stroke. Lillian vernon creative writers house, 58 west 10th street, between 5th and 6th avenues im only reading from foxes but some of you have requested to hear poems from crush. Richard sikens second collection of poems is centered around the idea of painting. War of the foxes i two rabbits were chased by a fox, of all the crazy shit in the world, and the fox kept up the chase, circling the world until the world caught up with them in some brokendown downtown metropolis. War of the foxes by richard siken copper canyon press. War of the foxes by richard siken overdrive rakuten.
In this second book, siken takes breathtaking control of the rich, varied material he has chosen siken paints and erasesthe metaphor of painting with words allows him to leave those traces that mostly go unseen. I know of other poets who were also visual artists william blake first and. Its hard not to read the new volume against the first, especially because the painter who narrates many of war s poems so easily stands in for the poet himself. A boy spills a glass of milk and his father picks him up by the back of the shirt and. Apr 28, 2015 buy war of the foxes by siken, richard isbn. Jun 29, 2015 war of the foxes, richard sikens second collection of poems, begins where his debut collection crush left off the body. In this longawaited followup to crush, siken turns toward the problems of making and representation, in an unrelenting. War of the foxes richard siken crush youve got to read this a few times richard siken. It has been 10 years since the publication of his first collection, and his sophomore collection, war of the foxes, is beautifully wrought and well worth the. Richard siken is a poet, painter, filmmaker, and an editor at spork press.
Apr 27, 2016 richard sikens book of poetry, war of the foxes, explores the inner and subjective world of emotions, selfperception, and the imperfect pursuit of artistic expression. I think my voice is the same, but my concerns are larger. Since its release, i have turned to crush many times to take pleasure in the images and voices that populate its poems. War of the foxes i two rabbits were chased by a fox, of all the crazy shit in the world, and the fox kept up the chase, circling the world until the world caught up.
If pressed, i could not name the boys or recite our favorite passages, but i feel certain that richard sikens crush 2005 was the book all of the gay aspiring poets at my college read and reread, dogeared, and invoked reverently in workshops and on facebook. Im older now and i cant pretend that im still in such immediate crisis. Richard sikens first book, crush, published in 2005, was a rarity among poetry collections. His poems unwind on the page effortlessly, barely pausing for. Hes using painting as a way to examine self expression, looking at a painting as a. Navigation of that space, both emotionally and physically, dominated the. Coming to the book, a short collection of about 47 poems that slowly and steadily creep up on you and ravage the core of your soul. In your new collection of poems war of the foxes there are lines that express concern about arts ability to represent reality.
Youre in a car with a beautiful boy, and he wont tell you that he loves you, but he loves you. I find that whatever words i may use to describe the effect richard sikens words have on me i will always fall short and appear very shabby. Publishers weekly war of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard sikens first book, crush. Richard siken s second collection, coming a decade after his yale younger poets prizewinning debut crush, finds the poet a subdued man with more mature preoccupations the erotic energy and dazzling infatuation that drove crush are replaced in war of the foxes with frustrations about the impossibility of creating pure and true artistic representati. Siken s second poetry collection, war of the foxes, is a much subdued, much quiet collection. Most of the titles of the poems suggest titles of paintings. Richard sikens debut, crush, won the yale younger poets prize, sold over 20,000 copies, and earned him a devoted fanbase. Siken s sense of line has become more uniform, this steadiness punctuated by moments of cinematic urgency. His poems unwind on the page effortlessly, barely pausing for breath. The academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets. Siken paints and erasesthe metaphor of painting with words allows him to leave those traces that mostly go unseen.
His second, war of the foxes, out from copper canyon this month, is full of poems that are painterly in the best possible sense. Sometimes the man felt like the bird and sometimes the man felt like a stonesolid, inevitablebut mostly he felt like a bird, or. Siken is a painter, and in war of the foxes he lays bare ifthens that lurk under the surface of writing poetry by paralleling those he confronts as a painter. Apr 21, 2015 richard siken has received high praise from fellow poets such as louise gluck, as well as critics at the new york times, and has won numerous awards, including the pushcart prize and the yale series of younger poets competition. The language of the birds 1 a man saw a bird and found him beautiful. I guess im finding it very interesting to feel a mind at work, roaming among mind, eye, object, intention, query. Animals, landscapes, objects, and an array of characters serve as sites for big, human questions to play out in distilled form.
Richard siken born february 15, 1967 is an american poet, painter, and filmmaker. Apr 28, 2015 animals, landscapes, objects, and an array of characters serve as sites for big, human questions to play out in distilled form. Sikens second poetry collection, war of the foxes, is a much subdued, much quiet collection. In poems equal parts contradiction and clarity, logic and dream, siken tells the modern world an unforgettable fable about itself. Like i said it severely and slept through all my appointments. War of the foxes is in some ways more subtle, and the poems here took me longer to digest, but they lingered with me. War of the foxes quotes by richard siken goodreads.
War of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard sikens first book, crush. Many poems are titled the way paintings would be, and give some description of what the painting might contain, in spirit if not form. Through multiple layers of mirrors and refraction, the poems in war of the foxes show the fallacies inherent in a search for truth, both in the world outside and within the self. In this longawaited followup to crush, siken turns toward. See more ideas about richard siken, words and poems. His second book, war of the foxes, is forthcoming from copper canyon press in 2015. In this second book due out in april 2015 with copper canyon press, siken takes breathtaking control of the rich, varied material he has chosen. It has been 10 years since the publication of his first collection, and his sophomore collection, war of the foxes, is beautifully wrought and well worth the wait.
War of the foxes by richard siken the war of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard siken s first book, crush. War of the foxes builds upon the lush and frantic magic of richard siken s first book, crush. Within most of his free verse poems, siken consistently uses the metaphor of painting to express not only the act of making art, but also the processes of human perception, connection and communication. Within most of his free verse poems, siken consistently uses the metaphor of painting to express not only the act of making art, but also the processes of human perception. Richard sikens poetry collection crush won the 2004 yale series of younger poets prize, a lambda literary award, the thom gunn award, and was a finalist for the national book critics circle award. Sikens sense of line has become more uniform, this steadiness punctuated by moments of cinematic urgency. War of the foxes by richard siken this may be the most anticipated poetry book of the last decade. Richard sikens first poetry collection crush won the 2004 yale series of younger poets prize, a lambda literary award, the thom gunn award, and was a. From characters and images one might find in a fabletalking foxes, valiant swords, a moon stolen like silver by thieving brotherssiken renders his speakers familial and romantic desolation as a gallery of fifty notsostill lives.
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