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5 by Five

by Robert Pestka, Danielle Bizzarro, Jeff Carroll, Andrea Denny-Brown, Sarah Hannah

103 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0078; ISBN 1-55212-679-X; US$13.95, C$20.95, EUR13.70, £9.50

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts       catalogue info

About the Book More than a simple collection, 5 by Five consists of twenty-five carefully placed poems -- five poems by five poets. Arranged in progressive cycles, the individual poems gather momentum as they navigate the confines of experience, touching on matters of love, loss, language, and time. An exuberant mix of styles and forms, moods and settings, the poems brought together here benefit from the company they keep. The distinct voices of these five poets play off one another surprisingly well and, ultimately, achieve a strange kind of unison.

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About the Poets Sarah Hannah, Jeff Carroll, Robert Pestka, Andrea Denny-Brown, and Danielle Bizzarro first met several years ago in the writing workshops of Columbia University and the Poetry Society of America and continued to work with one another intermittently in other writing workshops around New York City. In 1998, they decided to form their own workshop and have been meeting regularly ever since. Espousing no one particular style or method, the group is instead founded on mutual respect and affection and a common commitment to craft.

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Sample Excerpts

 

Robert Pestka, from Still Life

when I felt it
I dared not tell it or
like a cherry tree
           risk
           losing
           blossom

 

Sarah Hannah, from The Colors Are Off This Season

I want Pink, unthinking, true.
Foam pink, cream and coddle,
Miniskirt, Lolita, pompom, tutu,
Milkshake. Pink without the mottle

 

Jeff Carroll, from Friday Night

Deep in Thought,
Indiana
where Salvatore Quasimodo
still rings in the
ears, my footsteps are variable tonight.
From my mouth flow silver breathclouds in the moonlight.
I reach down into the grave
and pull myself, by the ankles, out.

 

Andrea Denny-Brown, from Black Leather Pants

Hand-tailored in London
to fit your ass exactly
to lengthen your legs
and accent platform shoes;
you roamed the streets
of Europe in these pants
in the early 70's, young
and sexy, in and out of clubs
with other younger, sexier men.

 

Danielle Bizzarro, from Vandals

Then something brushed
up against me briefly
just as I caught that glimpse of you
in the last bit of light
streaming through
a long tear in the roof.
Your hands much cooler than
the hard dirt beneath me.

 

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Catalogue Information

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