Joseph Moncure March (1899–1977)

A narrative poem from 1928 describing a night among louche theater people. It was widely banned but still a big success. It's powerful not just for being daring but also wonderfully written, and I say this as someone who doesn't like poetry much. I can't stop thinking about the ending. Art Spiegelman did expressive illustrations for this 1994 version in a woodcut style reminiscent of Lynd Ward.

Über die Qualität des vor Jahren wieder entdeckten Langgedichtes "Die wilde Party" des 1977 verstorbenen amerikanischen Kulturjournalisten Joseph Moncure March lässt sich streiten, über Art Spiegelmans Illustrationskünste weniger und so ist es seiner liebevollen visuellen Adaption zu verdanken, dass nahezu jede Seite ein ästhetischer Genuss geworden ist. Das Gedicht wurde erstmals 1928 veröffentlicht und galt viele Jahre als Skandalon, da es mit direkter Sprache und erotischer show more Freizügigkeit von einer langen Partynacht im New York der Wilden Zwanziger erzählt. Kurzweilig und pointiert bringen Spiegelmans Zeichnungen die Dekadenz der abgehalfterteten, halbseidenen Partygäste auf den Punkt.
Nicht nur aufgrund des aufschlussreichen Vorwortes von Spiegelman eine vorbildliche Form der literarischen Wiederentdeckung. show less

Poetry because it rhymes. Graphic novel because of the illustrations. Jazz Age tempo of a party on one night and its consequences.

I enjoyed it. I read it out loud to get the cadence and rhythm of the language. It gets more intense at the end. It is a story of jealousy and temptation, opportunities taken and opportunities missed. I found it interesting to see how the fast crowd lived and partied written by someone who was alive then. Different but a keeper.

Book length poems have been out of fashion for my whole life. (26 years on Tuesday). Art Spiegelman creator of the epic Maus dusted off this lost classic of the Jazz Age, and have it new life. Spiegelman's art leaps off the page, and compliments the verse beautifully.

The Wild Party gives new insight into the Roaring Twenties. Instead of the sterile censor friendly books of Hemingway and Fitzgerald (not to say that Fitzgerald didn't give life in other areas of his prose), we see all the sex show more and parties as vividly as anything on TV today. While this saw limited release in its own time due to the sexual content, its influence was great. William S Burroughs called this the book that started him on writing.

The great thing about a story like The Wild Party being told in verse is that it stays playful when it needs to and narrows its eyes and grits its teeth when it needs to. Verse stays alive as we see the debauchery consume them slowly. Essentially thought the story is about Queenie, a vaudeville dancer who loves to use men. Her most recent conquest is the abusive Burrs. He is a gruff and violent clown. Their relationship and the various twists and turns they take dances at the center of a party full of wild characters. My favorite is not named, but his portrait is quite vivid. A man sits with a broken hat in front of the victrola playing the same song over and over as he cries amongst the ruins of the party.
http://pissandvinegar.vox.com/library/post/the-wold-party-by-joseph-march.html show less