Saturday, January 19, 2008

New York Times Delivers!

at least for me. Go here to read Dan Chiasson's (full-page) review of The Poem of a Life in this coming Sunday's New York Times Book Review. The money phrase: "The Poem of a Life, Mark Scroggins’s terrific new biography."

"Terrific." I like that adjective...

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mark,

Yeah, I read it yesterday. Very nice, I thought, though Chiasson spent way too much set-up time/space I thought. Still, that should give a little sales boost (hopefully) to the biography...

Tyrone

E. M. Selinger said...

Just linked to it over at the Big Jewish Blog as well, Mark. Congratulations! And a good sales job, I think, spinning Zuk as a "personal" poet. That'll draw more readers than Kenner's "hermetic" tag, certes--

Unknown said...

Isn't this HUGE ? I mean getting this review at all, in the times, in this day and age, for poetry, wait! poetry crit/lit/biog!

Anonymous said...

That is fabulous.

Peter O'Leary said...

Mark!

This really IS huge. What a sweet validation of all the work you put into this project. And if the experience of Flood regarding a NYTBR review is any indication, you can expect sales of the biography to quadruple, at a minimum. (A week after Michael O'Brien's book was featured in David Orr's essay in the Book Review, it had sold out...)

Congrats!
Peter

Steve Shoemaker said...

Mark--Just want to add my hearty congrats. From what I've read so far the bio is wonderful. It amply deserves the wider readership this review is likely to help it secure...

best,
steve

Amy said...

Congratulations, Mark! That is a wonderful review!

Bradley said...

Fantastic news. Congratulations, Mark.

Josh Hanson said...

Congrats!

Anonymous said...

A wonderful review??? The chump said nothing about the author photo on the back flap! What was he reading? All seriousness aside, I do wish the reviewer would have reviewed the book you wrote rather than give a plot summary of LZ's life. But that's what they do, and the pub is what really matters here, so cheers to you, Mark, and here's to many more good notices to come for an excellent book -- a pleasure to read.

Paul Naylor

Archambeau said...

From behind my giant pile of empty Nyquil bottles and crumpled kleenex, I raise a feeble, congested cheer.

William Keckler said...

Hey, Mark!

I expected as much.

Did London chime in yet?

William Keckler said...

I thought of these lines shortly after but wasn't near a puter..

"Cricket-song--
what's in The Times--
your name!
Fame
here

on my doorstep"


---Lorine Niedecker

Don Share said...

Congrats, Mark! A "terrific" review of a "terrific" book.

Cheers,

Don

Ed Baker said...

very nice! very nice !!

I went to my local Border's

the poetry 'mavin' there is ordering 3 copies to put on their shelves


and, in spite of it all, Lorine maintained a sense of humor

this was some terrific group of people just look at your index..


Ciao, Ed

Norman Finkelstein said...

Mark,

Let me add my voice to the chorus. A big mazel tov to you. And there was old Geoffrey Hill frowning on the cover too!

Love,

N.

Anonymous said...

'a bizarre translation' . . . 'a treatise on Shakespeare' . . but can we forgive the reviewer leaving out--

John to John-John to Johnson

Ed Baker said...

dear anne-non-a-must,

I certainly use polyglot and phoneme differently than
say either
John Milton or William Shakespeare

Reznikof, Zukofsky,etc used to come to the HOA (frequently) and read ..to the orphans living there... Yiddish Shakespeare is and was O.K. especially after the Holocaust!

Daniel Pritchard said...

Well done sir! Many congratulations.

Ed Baker said...

check out the email that I just sent to you
re: Paul Zukofsky

my friend, Rabbi Joel (Braude) clued Paul about the review...
and called me (twice) from Manila to get some "facts"
about mutual friends..

Ed