Overview

Jim Cummins' wit and humor are legendary among both his friends. In his latest book of poems, Cummins maintains that the fear of death is the ultimate ego-trip, and central to this belief is his amusement at the self-centeredness of American experience. As he wrote in an early poem, he's interested in exploring the ""border region between narcissism and an inner life."" These poems cover a range of subjects, from teaching film noir to the silliness of academia & religion & maleness, to guns, love, friendship, beating a mother to death with a brick, an orange-colored president in diapers, and the death of a raccoon. With special cameos by Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Tom & Viv, John Wayne, Nick Black Elk, and Acker Bilk. Don't miss out. SAMPLE: Be Careful What You Wish For One night as you're staring into the 'abyss of erudition, ' the abyss loses interest in you and moves on down the line- sort of like metaphysical speed dating, except you didn't get the chance to show it your credentials. You're ticked off, but it's unfairness that got you here to begin with, right? One thing you'd been certain of was that you were an interesting case- could this be a wake-up call? The abyss is way down the line now, oblivious, leaving behind a nothingness you peek out over the rim of, like a child who's just learned how to stand up in his crib.

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9781962847216

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James Cummins was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1948, grew up in Cleveland and Indianapolis, and took degrees from the University of Cincinnati and the Iowa Writers Workshop. He's published seven books of poems, including his latest, Recalcitrant Actors, (Dos Madres Press, 2021), as well as poems in many journals, including the American Poetry Review, Paris Review, Harper's, AGNI, et al. His work appears in several anthologies, including The Oxford Book of American Poetry, 180 More, and five volumes of the Best American Poetry series. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife, the poet Maureen Bloomfield.

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