{"product_id":"encouragement-for-a-man-falling-to-his-death","title":"Encouragement for a Man Falling to His Death","description":"\u003ch5\u003eSigned paperback and hardcover copies available in limited supplies\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChristopher Kennedy's poetry is funny, deadpan, self-effacing and revelatory in the way of a man with nothing to lose. His first two books, \u003cem\u003eNietzsche's Horse\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrouble with the Machine\u003c\/em\u003e, are collections of prose poems. The poems are often ironic fables or surreal parables that lampoon the absurdities in contemporary American life. Kennedy's new collection, \u003cem\u003eEncouragement for a Man Falling to His Death\u003c\/em\u003e is more varied in forms and more personal in tone and themes. \u003cem\u003eEncouragement\u003c\/em\u003e is a mix of verse and prose poems with an emphasis on the former. A number of poems are fourteen lines, contain an octet and sestet, and present an argument which is then reinforced or countered. This more formal style provides the necessary \"architecture\" for Kennedy to grieve his father's death. Having recently turned fifty himself, the age his father was when he died, Kennedy's poems also reflect his own obsession with the idea of transformation--from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from life to death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRiddle of Self-Worth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy cannibal standards, I'm dinner for six.\u003cbr\u003eMy pet vulture has the disconcerting habit of staring\u003cbr\u003eat the clock and then at me. In terms of sun, \u003cbr\u003eI plan for a long Alaskan winter. Insurance salesmen\u003cbr\u003eslink away from me at parties. A stiff breeze\u003cbr\u003eblows away my weight in gold. In the world of before\u003cbr\u003eand after, I remain steadfastly before. Last session,\u003cbr\u003emy psychiatrist shook my hand and thanked me\u003cbr\u003efor curing his insomnia. If I had a nickel for every time\u003cbr\u003emy name was associated with greatness, I would owe\u003cbr\u003esomeone a quarter. My mother called recently and asked\u003cbr\u003efor her umbilical cord. Yet I'm resilient, a human cockroach.\u003cbr\u003eI'll be here for awhile, blocking progress in a black leather jacket,\u003cbr\u003eswitchblade quick and ruthless as a jar of pennies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e© BOA Editions, Ltd 2007 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAvailable editions:\u003cbr\u003e-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \u003cbr\u003eCloth ISBN: 978-1-934414-02-6\u003cbr\u003ePrice: $23.00 \u003cbr\u003ePublishing Date: October 2007\u003cbr\u003ePaperback ISBN: 978-1-929918-98-0\u003cbr\u003ePrice: $16.00 \u003cbr\u003ePublishing Date: October 2007\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":null,"offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":9802152581,"sku":"978-1-929918-98-0","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback (Signed)","offer_id":12465325342801,"sku":"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cloth (Signed)","offer_id":12465326194769,"sku":"978-1-934414-02-6","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/file_51.jpeg?v=1527683239","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/products\/encouragement-for-a-man-falling-to-his-death","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}