Snow White Horses : Selected Poems 1973-1988

Rating:
Summary: a strong collection
Review: Masterful--I find myself reading the poems aloud.

Rating:
Summary: A great poet!
Review: Ochester's stand-up poetry style is similar to the best of the comedian Lenny Bruce and poet Gerry Stern. Like life itself, these poems are made of the daily crap and politics of everyday living: what we eat, what we put into our body, what others try to put into us and the quest for happiness, or at least, a strong afterglow every once in a while. If you're looking for self-important poetry that manages to suck itself off with overbearing lyricism that appeals to readers who refer to people as "claque," look elsewhere. For accesible, intelligent and downright funny poems, read Ochester.

Rating:
Summary: Viva Ochester!
Review: Ochester's stand-up poetry style is similar to the best of the comedian Lenny Bruce and poet Gerry Stern. Like life itself, these poems are made of the daily crap and politics of everyday living: what we eat, what we put into our body, what others try to put into us and the quest for happiness, or at least, a strong afterglow every once in a while. If you're looking for self-important poetry that manages to suck itself off with overbearing lyricism that appeals to readers who refer to people as "claque," look elsewhere. For accesible, intelligent and downright funny poems, read Ochester.

Rating:
Summary: A great poet!
Review: Seeing the progression of Ochester's development from the early poems heavily influenced by Robert Bly and Mark Strand through the awakening of his own voice in Miracle Mile, his second book, and finally to his mature awakening in Changing the Name to Ochester where he explores his working class Brooklyn roots -- is an inspiration. Ochester is an important poet, and this book shows us how his unique talent evolved.

Rating:
Summary: a strong collection
Review: These are, simply, the best poems by one of the best poets writing. Love, sex, rock n' roll, the Rolling Stones, Shakespeare, Dr. Spock, and even da levy (for you serious underground poetry fans)all show up in Ochester poems. This is a book you lend to friends (and it never comes back) or pull out at a party (the comedic poems in here are better than jokes). These poems, dating back to 1973, still sound 20 years ahead of their time. No other poet in America has been able to bring so much craft to such an accessible body of work. These poems literally sing in the way Whitman did, though Ochester keeps his ear closer to the door and captures our common language better than Walt. I can't say enough about this wonderful book-- other than, buy it.