Jimmy & Rita (American Poets Continuum)
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
"One of the wonderful things about Jimmy & Rita is that Kim Addonizio never imposes herself in any way, so the poems sing themselves into us. We experience the victories and defeats of Jimmy and Rita... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1880238411
ISBN13:9781880238417
Release Date:November 1996
Publisher:BOA Editions
Length:88 Pages
Weight:0.10 lbs.
Dimensions:0.3" x 5.9" x 8.9"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
stunning story from addonizio
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
This series of poems by Addonizio is quite different from here other two collections, but it fits very well into her body of work. Jimmy & Rita is the story of two troubled people, how they met and what happened to them. I've heard it said that for poetry to succeed it has to take back the story from prose. Addonizio's poems definitely do that.
They don't leave you alone....
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
My first reaction to Jimmy & Rita was that this wasn't Addonizio's earlier The Philosopher's Club. It felt, therefore, like a disappointment, with each poem too dependent on the one before or the one that followed to have the same impact as the "standalones" of her first volume. Yeah, but. I found myself thinking about those two people, Jimmy and Rita, and their friends and families. I began to imagine them inhabiting a very real space inside me as well as in California and Trenton, New Jersey (Kim, have you ever been to Trenton?--it's every bit as awful as you might imagine). I went back and reread. The language is spare, deceptive, apparently realistic but opening up both the beauty and ugliness of love, its passion, ferocity, and disillusionment. At the end it is indeed a novel in verse, a testimony about survival, of having to let go of a beloved hand when the person at the end of that beloved hand is drowning and threatens to pull you under too. It is a long, urban epic, and it is treasurable because it is entirely unforgettable.
Finally a poet with spunk!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Unlike most modern day poets Ms. Addonizio has more to say than how warm and beautiful love is. She gets to the heart of life and love in a unique revolutionary way. I whole-heartendly reccommend this refreshing and unusual book
Welcome to perfection
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Kim Addonizio keeps shocking me by putting out books unlike any I've ever read. She is an eloquent, smart, sassy and just plain intelligent writer. By this book and if you missed her other one read it too. You won't be sorry
What A Story
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
The most incredible piece of poetry I've ever read. Ms. Addonizio has proven that poetry truly can be found in the most unlikely places. I'm anxiously awaiting her novel...in the meantime, pick up this book, even if you hate poetry. It will open your eyes.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
