Girly Man

I have to admit that I feel a bit depressed when reading Girly Man. Why? Because I know it's going to be awhile before I find another book of poetry this good, this funny, this original. Not all the poems work, but the best are far better than what anyone else is producing these days. The rest of this review is intentionally left blank.

Charles Bernstein's writing combines a scholar's discipline, an advocate's passion, a theorist's breadth, and a readiness to deflate everything with a good joke. In Girly Man, anything can serve as inspiration for a poem or essay: paintings in an exhibition, highway signs, and even war. Bernstein is among those rare writers who can perform their works effectively, and you can hear recordings of his reading online at Penn Sound and at the Electronic Poetry Center.

Bernstein is in top form. The influence of revolutionary poetics is apparent now across the internet, film, television and literature. Bernstein is without a doubt a fundamental contributor to these evolutions, and this book should not be missed.