Alone and Not Alone

by Ron Padgett

Following Pulitzer Prize finalist Ron Padgett's 2013's Collected Poems (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the William Carlos Williams Prize) Alone and Not Alone offers new poems that see the world in a clear and generous light.

From "The World of Us":

Don't go around all day
thinking about life—
doing so will raise a barrier
between you and its instants.
You need those instants
so you can be in them,
and I need you to be in them with me
for I think the world of us
and the mysterious barricades
that make it possible.

Genres: Poetry

89 pages, ebook

First published April 20, 2015

About the author

Ron Padgett is a poet and translator whose Collected Poems won the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America and the 2014 Los Angeles Times Prize for the best poetry book. Padgett has translated the poetry of Apollinaire, Pierre Reverdy, Valery Larbaud, and Blaise Cendrars.

Reviews

[Peycho Kanev · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Poem

What poem
were you thinking of,
my dear,
as you breezed out the door
in your long coat fur-tipped
at the top?
What animal
once wore that fur
and licked it
with a long, raspy tongue
that lolled to one side
in the afternoon shade?
If only you too
could lope across
the Serengeti Plain
and grab something
in your powerful jaws,
instead of pausing
at the door and saying,
as if in afterthought,
“Write a poem
while I’m out.”

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want art to change my life. Help wake me up and feel more alive. To ease the pain of living and sometimes bring some joy. Alone and Not Alone does that for me. I have read a lot of the earlier work of Ron Padgett and like it a lot but I am especially liking his later work. This new book is stellar. Padgett's later work is an especially warm experimentalism. Playful, generous, highly imaginative, full of the wisdom of lived experience with a light touch. This is not so called academic experimental poetry (depending on what that term means to you). These are not poems with disjunctive syntax and highly specialised language from academia/theory/corporation and so on. These poems are not overly masculine and machismo. They are never cliched or cheezy. There is a childlike openness and curiosity. They are also complex and surprising and in motion. It takes a highly skilled artist to use everyday conversational/simplified language to express complex emotions and ideas (think of the best of Basho, Frank O'Hara, Eileen Myles, Matthew Rohrer, Kenneth Koch etc). There is a voice (or voices) that just welcomes you and then takes you to unexpected places. I want to go where the poem takes me. I want to listen to the voice(s) in these all poems all day. Authenticity is a loaded word but I am going to say yeah authenticity. Padgett is not a poseur. His poetry is all over the map. A breadth. Yeah a breadth that I want from art. An art that tries to be as big as life. I am in love with the work of Ron Padgett!!

[Brad Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do appreciate Ron Padgett's style of poetry. Some of it is hard to get into, of course. But then some of it is so straight-forward that it inspires me to close the book and write my own.

[B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I became enamored with Ron Padgett's poetry when I first saw Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, the only film that I have ever seen that meditates on the life of a poet who works in today's world. Padgett's clarity, keen observation, and unelevated language is often a beautiful vehicle for poetic bliss. To quote Eminem: when it's going good, it's going great. However, when it isn't going good, Padgett's poems can feel more like notebook scraps or toothless first drafts.

This is not necessarily a criticism that will or should turn readers off from all of the work collected in Alone or Not Alone; there is still a fifth or so of this collection that is treasurable. Padgett, a poet who falls neatly into the "New York School" with the likes of Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch, values spontaneity (and purity) in poetry over intensive revision. The unpolished feel of his work is part of his voice and charm as a poet, and ultimately, the keystone of his overall aesthetic.

The two-star rating is not meant to be a knock on Padgett's style, but on the lack of truly affecting and memorable poems contained in his latest collection. All too often, reading Alone and Not Alone feels like reading the unpublished or uncollected section of a Collected Poems book from a poet that you admire. Are the poems still pure Padgett? Yes. Are they of a consistently high caliber? No, not at all really. Ultimately, this collection if not an effective starting point to embark down the Padgett path - it may turn readers off from him with a resounding "meh." Luckily, I have been flipping through Padgett's Collected Poems in order to remind myself of Padgett "going good."

Highlights:
"What Poem"
"The Roman Numerals"
"Butterfly"
"Where Is My Head?"
"The Punding Rabbit"
"The Elevation of Ideals"
"Birgitte Hohlenberg"
"Preface to Philosophy"
"Art Lessons"
"The World of Us"
"Of Copse and Coppice"
"Shipwreck in General"
"French Art in the 1950s"

[Haines Eason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally scratched at page 82 thinking it had been defaced by a vandal’s sticker—it’s almost worth picking up this collection just for that surprise. (Maybe someday you’ll read this collection and you’ll say “aha” and then “yeah.”) Almost is the operative word though...

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to him through the movie Paterson. Apparently he wrote the poems that the main character is composing throughout the film. His witty, plain-speaking surrealism reminded me at times of Brautigan, at times of James Tate.

[Ali Amiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

if A Good Poet is Hard to Find for you, then Padgett is your man.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Fueron mis expectativas altas que me traicionaron o simplemente no me gustó?

[Gambrinous · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon Padgett after watching Jim Jarmusch's Paterson , as he wrote most of the poems in the film. If he's good enough to write for a William Carlos Williams impersonator (none other than Adam Driver himself), he must certaintly be worth reading, I thought.

Ron Padgett creates a beautifully-crafted poetry on the everyday life. Finding the intrinsic beauty in mundane things leads to one of the most heart-warming and inspiring poetry; sometimes nostalgic, sometimes uplifting and somethings sad -like life itself. I don't know why, but this book made me want to read contemporary American authors again.

Loved the Chevy '75 poem.

[Seda Hovhannisyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Մի երգ կար
որ պապս սիրում էր երգել
երգի մեջ մի տող կար, հարցնում էր`
կուզեի՞ր լինել ձուկ։
Նույն երգի մեջ
նույն հարցը հնչում էր մի քանի անգամ
ձկան փոխարեն ավանակ ու խոզ
բայց գլխիս մեջ պտտվում է էն մի տողը
որ հարցնում էր`
կուզեի՞ր լինել ձուկ։
Հենց էդ մի տողը։
‌- Պատերսոն ֆիլմից, հ.ս.
Բուկովսկիից հետո իմ ամենասիրելի գրողը` Ռոն Փաջեթ, ծանոթացեք, ladies and gentlemen

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 1 out of 5]

My problem with this book is mostly because of a poem called "the Chinese girl" that for me besides of being racist (I think it is), it's disgusting to imagine a 67 years old man imagining a life long with a 18 years old, and most of the pens are really mediocrer

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Especially charmed by "Art Lessons," "Roman Numerals," "I Felt," and "The World of Us."

[Levan Chkonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

ორს ვწერ, კი, მაგრამ მართლა კარგია

[Nicky Enriquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ron Padgett is always a joy.

[Kathleen]

My favourite poems in this book of poetry are What Poem, One Thing Led to Another, and Pea Jacket.

[j.e.rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The best still lifes have emptiness."

[Laurel Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playful, whimsical, emotive, and creative. A gentle and enjoyable read of someone looking at where their life is now - later in their life.

[WINDMILLWARRIOR69 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has plenty of explosions, boobs and action. Pretty much perfect.

[Michael Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Like It

Quirky poetry. I will read these poems again. I need twelve more words to say how much I like these poems.

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. The poems seemed very accessible, the writing is more on straight-forward side yet it still managed to be over my head. I caught myself literally shaking my head in confusion to what this could mean. No click with me.
My favorite was "Butterfly" which can be found very early on in the collection. In the end, I don't regret picking this up, true, I did not like it all that much (or get it all that much) but I see it as a stepping stone on the poetry journey which I am on right that makes this path more diverse and ultimately -hopefully- will help shape my taste in poetry.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite poems:

Face Value
The Pounding Rabbit (structure)
The Elevation of Ideals
The Value of Discipline
Pea Jacket
The Rabbi with a Puzzle Voice
Syntactical Structures
The World of Us

[Jim Rickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!