World'd Too Much: The Poetry of Russell Atkins (Imagination)

by Russell Atkins

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Poetry. African & African American Studies. Edited by Kevin Prufer and Robert E. McDonough. "Russell Atkins is a phenomenon, and his writing is phenomenal. Its existence requires us to simultaneously rethink the received histories of the avant-garde and of African American literature, and to reconsider the limits of post-war poetry entirely."�Craig Dworkin "This sheaf of anti-Wordsworthian scherzi by Russell Atkins is a pharmaceutical-grade delight�'the laughter that hags.' From the show more manifesto which opens this volume to the noiry/Sublime poetry dramas which close it out, Atkins's feats and sleights prompt (in me) a Bacchantic response. It's like when, driving eastbound thru Cleveland on the I-90, at the height of summer, you reach that point where you have to either make a sharp right turn at full speed or drive directly into the lake. For a brainsplitting second, suspended in Atkins's poetry, I feel myself slip the binary, buck airborne & soar up over Erie's dazzling, fatal face. This is the sheerest of stuff, and the best."�Joyelle McSweeney "There have yet to be made the proper comparisons between Paul Celan and Russell Atkins�in form, in syntax, in intention, and yes, in content. This book shows that Atkins remains a poet whose eye is as sharp as any blade that cut through the 20th century, and readers who have yet to experience his writing deprive themselves of actually seeing the blood that runs through us all. That blood is dark. It is necessary."�Jericho Brown show less

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tungsten_peerts 301 reviews

I have a personal connection to this book, so I can't promise unbiased-ness (can one ever, really, promise that?): my first and most cherished mentor, who directed me (during undergraduate school) in several Shakespearean roles I had no business assaying, had been involved with Karamu House in Cleveland and knew Russell Atkins personally. She also taught the poetry writing workshops at my alma mater, and in that context would often bring up her 'crazy' friend Russell and even quote from one or more of his poems.

Therefore, I was thrilled when this book showed up on the Small Press Distribution website. I ordered it right away, and am currently enjoying not only the wild poems Annetta used to cite years ago, but many others. As of show more November 2019 Atkins is still living and at 93 years of age is finally getting the recognition he deserves as a determined experimental poet. Annetta, who is alas no longer living, would have been so pleased.

Atkins' poems are often difficult to parse, but they are wide-ranging and extremely rewarding. Inspiring stuff for writers who buck the mainstream tide. show less

Nov 19, 2019

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