Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-three of the World's Best Poems

(Paperback)

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Description

Americas most provocative intellectual brings her blazing powers of analysis to the most famous poems of the Western traditionand unearths some previously obscure verses worthy of a place in our canon. Combining close reading with a panoramic breadth of learning, Camille Paglia sharpens our understanding of poems we thought we knew, from Shakespeare to Dickinson to Plath, and makes a case for including in the canon works by Paul Blackburn, Wanda Coleman, Chuck Wachtel, Rochelle Krautand even Joni Mitchell. Daring, riveting, and beautifully written, Break, Blow, Burn is a modern classic that excites even seasoned poetry loversand continues to create generations of new ones.

Reviews

She flies as high as you can go. . . . Bold and convincing. . . . Exemplary. . . . A rich book.

The New York Times Book Review

The chapter on Sylvia Plaths Daddy will take the top of your head off! James Wolcott

As entertaining as it is dazzingly erudite, Break, Blow, Burn is capable of re-energizing any readers engagement with poetry.

Francine du Plessix Gray, The Week

I hope a lot of people read this book. . . . There wasnt a commentary where I didnt learn something about the poem in question, no matter how familiar the poem was. Philip Marchand, Toronto Star

It will have students storming the walls of tomorrows English departments, mad for poetry again. St. Petersburg Times

Dazzling. . . . Bursts with her ingenuity. . . . Brilliant insights . . . permeate the book. . . . Readers receive a marvelous education.

Rocky Mountain News

Paglias vision is always fresh. . . . She makes a fascinating and challenging reading companion. These essays will inspire anyone to turn back to poetry again. The Times (London)

Author Bio

Camille Paglia is the University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. A regular contributor to Salon.com, she is the author ofGlittering Images;Break, Blow, Burn;Sexual Personae;Sex, Art, and American Culture; andVamps & Tramps.