Ennui Prophet

(Paperback)

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"Singular and deeply pleasurable. Christopher Kennedy's prosetry is a lonely anarchic nation-state unto itself, half vacation funspot, half eerie purgatorial layover."--Dave Eggers The poems in Ennui Prophet, Christopher Kennedy's fourth collection, range from deeply personal explorations of relationships with family and friends, to examinations of the political climate in the first decade of the millennium. Whether personal or public, Kennedy gazes through a slightly distorted lens to better see the world around us. Christopher Kennedy's previous book, Encouragement for a Man Falling to His Death (BOA Editions Ltd., 2007) received the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award. He directs Syracuse University's MFA program in creative writing.

Reviews

"...this third book of prose poems (his fourth book overall) shows [Kennedy's] clear mastery of several prose--poem forms, with lyricism, jokiness ("Amish Radio"), non sequiturs, sadness, and even a bit of cultural criticism to boot." -- Publishers Weekly "It's difficult to find an arrangement of prose poems that seems to work well as a collection, or that extends beyond attempts to define this new and unique genre. Cristopher Kennedy's third collection of prose poetry, Ennui Prophet, is a rare exception to this dilemma. ... In [his] hands, the prose poem is not a linear list of things but a skittish thread running through the narrative line." -- Kenny Tanemura, Sycamore Review "This is one of the finest collections of prose poetry in a long time, and Kennedy is the poet to read to find out where this popular form is going." -- Rain Taxi "Can one have too much fun writing a poem I imagine Kennedy offering the reader an enthusiastic high-five at the end of this one. Yet, humor turns to horror as we are finally forced to recognize ourselves in Kennedy's paralyzed 'Ennui Prophet' who can no longer distinguish a 'scream forming' from 'a yawn.' Kennedy's work delights in such ambiguity and also finds ways to keep speaking through its sleepy screams." -- KR Online

Author Bio

Christopher Kennedy is the author of three poetry collections, Encouragement for a Man Falling to His Death (BOA Editions, Ltd.), which received the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award in 2007; Trouble with the Machine (Low Fidelity Press); and Nietzsche's Horse (Mitki/Mitki Press). His work has appeared in many print and on-line journals and magazines, including Ploughshares, New York Tyrant, Ninth Letter, The Threepenny Review, Slope, Mississippi Review, and McSweeney's. He is an associate professor of English at Syracuse University where he directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing.