Two And Two

I agree with all the reviewers here. "Two by Two" is so worth having. "Embarazar," Duhamel's poem about Spanish mistranslations, is worth the cost of the book alone! All of Duhamel's poetry is a bonus!

I love Duhamel's work. She's fiesty, funny, and she's original. There's no one quite like her--which is really saying a lot, considering how much poetry sounds the same to me these days. She's experimental, risky, she's always trying something new in each book. There's a fantastic 911 poem in this book. It's a collage of emails, narratives, dips and twists of media, --it's just fantastic, completely original and modern--24 pages and I could not stop reading it, when I got to the end--I read it again. That poem alone is worth the price of the book. I interviewed her last spring at MiPo. Today I was looking for something 'fresh' to read and I grabbed Two and Two again, just as enjoyable with multiple readings. Here's the link to the interview: http://www.mipoesias.com/Volume19Issue3Gudding/duhamelinterview.html

Denise Duhamel's poetry is the kind you dive into head first, let yourself glide along the rich silty depths, see and feel in a way you never have before. Her words will deliver you back to the surface, up to the light. Fill your lungs with sharp sobering air, then take yourself back in and through again. And again. Each trip is an enchanting evocative journey.

I've been a big fan of Denise Duhamel's work for many years now. This book is simply her best and most courageous. It holds nothing back. If anyone in the world wants to know what great American poets are up to then this is the book to turn to. It's a must for poetry lovers and a wonderful selection for those of us teaching contemporary American poetry. No one else does this kind of Americana-infused poetry. Mrs. Duhamel is simply writing at the peak of her gargantuan powers! A++++