Scan barcode
toniclark's review
2.0
I don't know. This book sure gets great reviews. And Lyn Hejinian's blurb is over the top. It just didn't do it for me. It was okay, just okay. Not many poems that I really liked, and many that I just shook my head at. Maybe I'll try it again when I grow up. I did like "Bastille Day" and "Now You See It." I may do some rereading and rethinking. I feel as though I'm really missing something.
Bastille Day
The first time I saw Paris
I went to see where the Bastille
had been, and though
I saw the column there
I was too aware that
the Bastille was not there:
I did not know how
to see the emptiness.
People go to see
the missing Twin Towers
and seem to like feeling
the lack of something.
I do not like knowing
that my mother no longer
exists, or the feeling
of knowing. Excuse me
for comparing my mother
to large buildings. Also
for talking about absence.
The red and gray sky
above the rooftops
is darkening and the inhabitants
are hastening home for dinner.
I hope to see you later.
Now You See It
What you don’t see
helps you see what
you do see: the keyhole
sharpens the thrill
in your brain,
even if there is
no one
in the room,
shadows
wafting across
the white sheets
as a song drifts in
the window,
her voice so pure
you can see
the face it rises from,
for what you see
helps you see what
you don’t see.
Bastille Day
The first time I saw Paris
I went to see where the Bastille
had been, and though
I saw the column there
I was too aware that
the Bastille was not there:
I did not know how
to see the emptiness.
People go to see
the missing Twin Towers
and seem to like feeling
the lack of something.
I do not like knowing
that my mother no longer
exists, or the feeling
of knowing. Excuse me
for comparing my mother
to large buildings. Also
for talking about absence.
The red and gray sky
above the rooftops
is darkening and the inhabitants
are hastening home for dinner.
I hope to see you later.
Now You See It
What you don’t see
helps you see what
you do see: the keyhole
sharpens the thrill
in your brain,
even if there is
no one
in the room,
shadows
wafting across
the white sheets
as a song drifts in
the window,
her voice so pure
you can see
the face it rises from,
for what you see
helps you see what
you don’t see.
sloatsj's review
3.0
This was very enjoyable and sprinkled with marvels. "How to be Perfect," the title poem, was probably the one I liked least. I have to say, however, that overall I've read better Padgett.
wkdidka's review
5.0
Although the poem is just a poem, I decided that this, too, counts as a book read. On the other hand, I am just too busy with work to complete a 350 page book at the same time.
But this one is very nice. I would like to think myself as a person who follows some of these rules. And as a Capricorn, I love rules. Some of these that I loved:
But this one is very nice. I would like to think myself as a person who follows some of these rules. And as a Capricorn, I love rules. Some of these that I loved:
"Don't be afraid of anything beyond your control. Don't be afraid, for
instance, that the building will collapse as you sleep, or that someone
you love will suddenly drop dead."
"Be friendly. It will help make you happy."
"Make eye contact with a tree."
"Don't stay angry about anything for more than a week, but don't
forget what made you angry. Hold your anger out at arm's length
and look at it, as if it were a glass ball. Then add it to your glass ball
collection."
katepowellshine's review against another edition
5.0
When I told my sister I wanted Ron Padgett's How to be Perfect for my birthday, I didn't realize I needed to specify I wanted the poetry collection, and got instead this illustrated version of only the title poem, and I am so glad, because this book is delightful. Now I want the full collection even more.
james_weakley's review against another edition
4.0
It's the most basic advice. It's the most ludicrous counsel. It's the most poignant ideas, paired with touching and hilarious imagery. It is a must read of poetry and visuals.
estellabelle92's review against another edition
4.0
Perfect book for a little pick-me-up and this-to-shall-pass moment.
benjibriar99's review
4.0
Some poems and thoughts in here are so random, yet so precious that I want to put them away in a little box and look at them each time the world seems grey and dreary, which - trust me - is actually quite a lot. Half a point deduction for the poems that were just a bit too random for me and half a point deduction for the things I found a bit problematic in here. And I know, art is allowed to do everything blablabla, but I am and remain uptight.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review against another edition
5.0
Not everybody likes poetry. Sadly, many people were taught in school that poetry is Complex and is Too Deep for Anyone Other than Literature Professors to Contemplate. Very sad.
Do you feel like that? Do you feel reading poetry is akin to reading in another language?
This little book could change that. Padgett is a Poet for the People. Billy Collins-ish. Readable. Yet thoughtful.
I ran across Padgett a few weeks ago via Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. Here’s just a tiny excerpt from this book’s title poem, How to Be Perfect:
Get some sleep.
Eat an orange every morning.
Be friendly. It will help make you happy.
Hope for everything. Expect nothing.
Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room
before you save the world. Then save the world….
Do you feel like that? Do you feel reading poetry is akin to reading in another language?
This little book could change that. Padgett is a Poet for the People. Billy Collins-ish. Readable. Yet thoughtful.
I ran across Padgett a few weeks ago via Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. Here’s just a tiny excerpt from this book’s title poem, How to Be Perfect:
Get some sleep.
Eat an orange every morning.
Be friendly. It will help make you happy.
Hope for everything. Expect nothing.
Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room
before you save the world. Then save the world….
More...