Seriously Funny: Poems about Love, Death, Religion, Art, Politics, Sex, and Everything Else
"From Frank O’Hara’s ‘Poem (Lana Turner Has Collapsed!)’ and John Ashbery’s ‘Daffy Duck in Hollywood’ to a host of younger poets now writing ‘seriously funny’ poems, this anthology argues eloquently that poetry is not just the equivalent of somber personal reflection, that indeed from Chaucer to the present, humor, irony, satire, and play are as integral to poetry as they are to narrative prose. Turning the pages of this generous anthology, you will smile and chuckle—and also weep!”—Marjorie Perloff, author ofRadical Artifice: Writing Poetry in the Age of Media“I loved this book. From its mouth-watering table of contents to its last eccentric, splendid poem, Kirby and Hamby have put paid to the notion that serious poetry can’t have a sense of humor. When people ask me to recommend something good to read that’s both thought provoking and irresistibly entertaining, poetry anthologies don’t generally come to mind. This one will.”—Nancy Pearl, author ofBook Lust“During a time when so many of our poets seem afflicted by mere self-importance and an almost-Pavlovian tic of irony, this book celebrates the other kind of funny—the sort that is mordant, absurdist, and keen to both laud and critique the madness and fascinating lunacy of our culture. Hamby and Kirby have assembled a bracing set of poems which remind us anew how closely heartbreak, humor and wisdom literature are aligned. These poems spring from necessity, not from the desire for punch lines.”—David Wojahn, author ofInterrogation Palace: New and Selected Poems 1982–2004