What Narcissism Means to Me - by Tony Hoagland (Paperback)

About the Book

An eagerly awaited new collection of poems by contemporary favorite Tony Hoagland, author of "Donkey Gospel." Hoagland levels his particular brand of acute irony not only on the personal life, but also on some provinces of American culture.

Book Synopsis

An eagerly awaited new collection of poems by contemporary favorite Tony Hoagland, author of Donkey Gospel

How did I come to believe in a government called Tony Hoagland?
With an economy based on flattery and self-protection?
and a sewage system of selective forgetting?
and an extensive history of broken promises?
--from "Argentina"

In What Narcissism Means to Me, award-winning poet Tony Hoagland levels his particular brand of acute irony not only on the personal life, but also on some provinces of American culture. In playful narratives, lyrical outbursts, and overheard conversations, Hoagland cruises the milieu, exploring the spiritual vacancies of American satisfaction. With humor, rich tonal complexity, and aggressive moral intelligence, these poems bring pity to our folly and celebrate our resilience.

Review Quotes

Praise for "Donkey Gospel: "[Tony Hoagland's] poetry of cultural irony, contemporary sexuality, and the absurdities of the rock-and-roll generation leave us with a satisfied feeling of having ridden out a storm."

About the Author

Tony Hoagland is the author of Donkey Gospel, winner of the 1997 James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets, and Sweet Ruin, winner of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry. He teaches at the University of Pittsburgh.