why don't more people know about jeremy reed? the more i read his fiction and his poetry the more i want. if you've never been fortunate enough to encounter his work before, this is the place to start. he creates a vivid (if not realistic or necessarily true to 'reality')artaud for his novel and shows a great deal of sympathy for his alienated suffering and painful bouts of total isolation and madness. the ending is particularly beautiful and awe inspiring, wherein artaud finally realizes the dream of all imaginative poets, writers and just creative people in general--an actual plunge into the world of the imagination. of course none of it is really realistic, but curiously enough i take reed very seriously. he is not a man filled with wishful thinking or a desire to spread his longing for poetic and artistic escapism, but a man with such a luminous and stunning inner vision that he can do nothing else than write beautiful and absolutely unforgettable works of the most intense aesthetic vitality and vividness. reed portrays artaud brilliantly as a warrior of the poetic imagination and an avowed enemy of a society that represses the surreal and the creative. "madness is the pejorative term that capitalism applies to vision", he says at one point. the critics, pretentious morons that they are, dismiss reed because they see him as too 'derivative'. if jeremy reed is derivative, i for my part can only hope that more modern writers and poets will follow his lead and become derivative, if it produces works of aesthetic genius like this one. anyone who enjoys surrealist poetry and literature (or 'anti literature' as they so aptly called it) or is interested in the history or relationships within the group, buy this book the next chance you get. and any lover of poetry, whether he or she tends toward classicism or modernism, will adore this book. a must. (also read "delirium", reed's subversive and powerful study of rimbaud and his years as an adolescent rebel and seer.)

Often I wondered whether madness is just sanity not yet baptised in the virgin waterfalls of reason. Reading this book confirmed that belief. The unfathomable power of the Dionysian Hero who sacrifices his sanity and carries the burden of the entire "civilised" world to push the definition of whats "acceptable" and "sane" - that very quality shines out in the hallucinatory, rat-eating madness of Antonin Artuad. Our hero gives us hope and a dream - a dream of a better tomorrow. The book also confirmed some of my other beliefs such as the ones held by Aldous Huxley on the relationship of certain exhibit A chemical "drugs" and creativity. Apart from the fact that the entire book is like one long, beautiful poem and the poetic imagery that it arouses shoots up the spine and flashes in the brain, it challenges the hypocrisy of the society and erects crystal pyramids for the martyrs, who sacrificed their sanity back in th 60s. A "doors of perception" cleansing book!

All That's Left to You is a sad reminder of all that was lost by the Palestinian people in 1948. Families were separated, yet a nation was born from their sorrow. This novella is the second in what became a trilogy of the evolution of Palestinian consciousness. It is here that their anger erupts. It is here that a nation begins to hear the plea of the author himself - salvation comes through actions, not through memories. A most interesting and important aspect of the novella is Kanafani's accurate portrayal of a woman's heart. This story must be recognized as a contribution to feminist literature. The main female character struggles within the parameters of a deeply paternalistic society under military occupation to come to terms with her sexuality and her shattered dreams. It is through her that the nation will be reborn. Kanafani utilizes excellent literary devices and the translation by Kirkpatrick is superb. The reader is advised to read Men in the Sun first if possible.

Dicing For Pearls is an intense, beautiful, meditative volume of poetry from one of the finest, most versatile and prolific writers in the English language. For me, Reed is among the dozen greatest writers of our fin de siecle. JG Ballard, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kathleen Raine, John Ashberry David Gascoyne and the late James Merrill have said the same on numerous occasions. Sadly, while Reed has a very devoted following among great writers, at present many ordinary readers still don't know his work. So if you are new to Reed, here is a little bit about him.

Jeremy Reed has published more than 40 major works in under twenty years. He has written more than a dozen books of poetry, as many novels, and several volumes of literary and music criticism. He has also published important and respected translations of Montale, Cocteau, Nasrallah, Adonis, Bogary and Holderlin. His own work has been translated abroad in numerous editions and more than half a dozen languages. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including those of the National Poetry, Somerset Maugham, Eric Gregory, Ingram Merrill, and Royal Literary Funds. He has also won the Poetry Society's European Translation Prize.

Reed's poetry displays a masterful light-fingered lyricism in which acute social observation and humour combine to create a public poetry in the tradition of Auden and Merrill. In other moods, Reed is a masterful observer of the specific details of passing strangers. As they move through the unmatched variety of London's daily procession, he engages them in moments of imaginative meeting, creating a private poetry of urban encounter whose affinities lie closest to Frank O'Hara and Baudelaire. In these poems, Reed allows his profound sympathy for others to form a bridge inward, a bridge sustained through arresting imagery, into the mains circuits of the world we share.

This volume, Dicing for Pearls, was written in 1990, just as Reed began beating a dozen years of drug addiction. In this small group of brave, disarming poems he stands in plain sight, emotionally naked, in the storm of his own history. At this point Rilke seems to have become a constant spectral presence for the poet, a kind of bright shadow. During a series of meditations on surviving, and doing more with living then merely surviving, Reed builds a sustained elucidation of feeling through painful transitional experience.

From the poem "Rilke":

"...he is awareness of himself without embodiment,/ a continuity of things/achieved to be given away/ to hands cupped in asking./

What once was done has learned to live for him./ The poem too has blue eyes and a face/ we recognise, identity questioning us/ to take it in/as a deer drinks the horizon/by readings of the wind..."

This is a most generous book from perhaps our most generous poet. It is a privilege to be able to recommend it to you.

This is an insightful book about how some poets drove themselves to the edge of madness for their craft. I found the author's description of Gerard Manley Hopkins particularly enlightening as a study of the creative process and the role of observation in that: according to the author, when Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit priest he would roam about the countryside intensly observing things in nature to the bewilderment and amusement of passersby... for instance, he would get down on all fours in the middle of a street and stare at a puddle of water for an hour until he had internalized its "essence", enabling him to then sit down and write out in his poems exactly what he had observered. An interesting book for anyone interested in the creative process, the price of dedication to a work of passion or medium, or as a book on methods of observation.

Jeremy Reed proves he can write decadent fiction with "The Pleasure Chateau Omnibus." Imagine Huysmans writing a contemporary novel, that is Reed at his best. Between sumptuous set pieces that are marvels of decadent description (Leanda's banquet in "The Pleasure Chateau", Sade's various chambers in "Sister Midnight", and all of "The Purple Room") there are ferocious passages of savage eroticism. Bondage, whipping, orgies, excess, and luxury all combine in a cognac of the highest eroticism. This is literate porn at its most literate, since Reed chooses to extend the literary tradition of masters like Sade, Sacher-Masoch, Huysmans, Baudelaire, David Bowie, and Rimbaud. He is part of that tradition and that traditionalism is what makes the trilogy so radical. There is introspection and emotion, but definitely not of the "Bridges of Madison County" variety. If you like philosophy with delicious dollops of unbridled sexual frenzy, this is the novel for you.

Though Arabic fiction has been typically characterized as "realist" this novel extends fair beyond the borders of traditional narratives (both Western and Mid. Eastern) and into the realm of poetics, metafiction, folklore, and abstraction. A solid achievement on every level. Though even the author has expressed doubts about the validity of translated texts, I found the book, despite whatever has been lost by its transition into English, to be astoundingly poignant and surprisingly surreal. My only complaint, in fact, is that Nasrallah has virtually no other works that have been translated into a language that I can actually read. Not yet at least...

The book, though not directly political, can do nothing to prevent itself from depicting the disillusionment and frustration of an entire generation of Palestinians living in exile- the theme of identity loss, IMO, is intricately connected with this reality. Nasrallah is also more of a poet than a fiction writer (this is actually one of his only novels, he's famous mostly for his poetry) but I think this serves to give his narrative a fresh voice and structural style that most traditional novelists lack.

A must read, especially for those with even the remotest interest in the Middle-East.

Jean Cocteau's impressionistic poetry is simply amazing. It's in both English and French (and there's some famous erotic drawings by another artist included, which I found to be a little inappropriate) and contains about 20 poems. I loved every poem in the book and found modern allusions to them in bands like The Cure. I strongly recommend this to someone with a love for intellectual poetry.

I'm not a big poetry buff but Qabbani just grabbed me. He's an amazing poet who spills his heart throughout this book.

So powerful, so sensual, so incredible. His poetry is earth shaking and primal.

Don't let the fact that his words have been translated from their original Arabic dissuade you from believing that somehow the work isn't as honest as it should be. Qabbani's work is so powerful it hardly matter shwat language it is in. In short, easily read dollops of wit measured out with a voice of quiet urging, he has given us work that transcends time and politics, while being above-it-all.

"If you know a man
who loves you more than I
guide me to him
so I may first congratulate
hom on his constancy
and later, kill him."

If poetry ever had a Luther Vandross, it was Pablo Neruda. If it ever had a Barry White, it was Qabbani.

Jeremy Reed is open and unabashed about his bisexuality, his affection for rock stars, and his fascination with science fiction. All this could, and sometimes does, make surprising, interesting, and superb poetry. Unfortunately, Reed also tends to be repetitive, meandering, and narrow in his focus. Of his sexuality, he has said, "Why be one or the other?" so many times it seems like a mantra or creed rather than a deeply held belief, and this simple piece of rhetoric disbands at one sweep all the interesting possibilities and societal challenges raised by such fluid sexuality. Still, Reed has the ability to delight and surprise his readers as well as the authors he admires most: Artaud, Rimbaud, Ashbery. His tendency to bring science-fiction staples such as androids, robots, and astronomical phenomena into his poems is one that could potentially create a whole new genre: the science fiction poem. Since the best science fiction is that which rises above the level of pulp material, and which also has a tendency to become science fact, perhaps Reed's vision isn't so farfetched as it may seem.

Red-Haired Android is my first foray into the world of Jeremy Reed, and in reading his poetry I have discovered a voice for my generation. His vivid use of colour to describe feelings, emotions and surroundings, give words a new meaning. The imagery in his thoughts is astounding. He can create a mental picture using only a few simple words. The passion the Jeremy Reed conveys through his use of language was quickly passed on to me, and this book has been relegated to the 'favourites' shelf in my bookcase. This is a book that is is for anyone. For lovers of poetry and those who have yet to be convinced of its power.

Despite suffering, ultimately, a bit of classic British reserve, Reed's poetry is quite probably the best currently being produced by anyone, anywhere. While lacking the warmth and humanity of Desnos, for example (clearly one of his major influences), Reed's work is awash with the telltale signs of true genius; from his unrivalled use of color to his ultramodern, up-to-the-minute employment of late-century vernacular, his writing shimmers with a top-to-bottom coherence,imagination, and clarity of thought that no other current poet in my experience can equal. To find another poet of this caliber, you have to journey back to the aforementioned Robert Desnos, circa 1926-45.

Jeremy Reed is the kind of writer you take your time with. Although his writing is fluid and full of vivid pictures he is not rushed, and when you read this fascinating hypothetical sequel to Dorian Gray you shouldn't rush it either. As you may remember, at the end of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, Dorian slashes his painting and dies, all of his sins now clearly etched into his face and body. Dorian, the sequel starts in Paris, several years later. Henry Wotton is now Dorian's lover, and Dorian is still young, beautiful and more depraved than ever. With a voracious appetite for beautiful boys, alcohol, drugs and oppulant clothing, he practices black magic and goes to s&m clubs. In Paris, he meets Rimbaud and Baudelaire, and finally Oscar Wilde a shadow of his former self since his release from jail. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. It is totally original and full of intrigue. Jeremy Reed is an intellect first. I think this is why he succeeds so beautifully.

jeremy reed's "dorian" had me riveted from the first page to the last, and i read it all in one sitting. reed is the modern jk huysmans, and like that sickly but brilliant french author reed delights in mental escape from the banality of monotonous day to day routine and the mediocrity of daily existence. anyone who has decadent or anti social tendencies will immediately recognize reed as a fellow dreamer and inhabitant of perverse illusion. as in "chasing black rainbows" and "isidore", one experiences the unique and wonderful sensation of being propelled into a magical realm of imaginative reality and poetic madness. the author clearly relates to the outcasts of society and those who freely violate its repressive taboos and live on it's fringes, as the gangster/tranvestite character of Nadja (no doubt a veiled homage to Andre Breton's brilliant novel of the same name)does. "I've always been fascinated with the mad, the criminals, the outlaws of society" she says, and we can be sure that this is reed speaking, just as des esseintes was a mouthpiece for huysmans. this is a must read for anyone interested in surrealism, symbolism, decadence, and just plain weirdness. kudos to reed for another masterpiece of fantastic sympathy and 'convulsive beauty'.