The University of Wisconsin Press

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Poetry

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Funny Jennifer Michael Hecht The Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry Ronald Wallace, General Editor Winner of the 2005 Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, selected by Billy Collins A tour de force, Funny is a masterpiece of poetic, as well as philosophic and comic, invention. It creates a musing world where the issues are philosophical but the focus is always on people, on our most private ways of balancing our accounts. The poems are psychological; tender and humane, and somehow ruthless. This is poetry that swarms with ideas, that revels in rhythmic intricacy and literary references, but is also clear as a bell and tells marvelous stories. "Funny leaves no doubt that humor has finally reclaimed its legitimate place in American poetry."—Billy Collins "Guy calls the doctor, says the wife's contractions are five minutes apart Doctor says, Is this her first child? guy says, No, it's her husband. I promise to remember who I am." —excerpt from "Love Explained" "No one will ever explain why what's funny is funny . . . but we have to try, and you will not find better meditations on the matter than these deep, delightful poems."—Ted Cohen, author of Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters "Playing off a catalogue of jokes which we all recognize, as well as serious theories about the comic, Jennifer Michael Hecht has produced a collection like no other. . . . Her poems are delights." —Billy Collins Jennifer Michael Hecht is a historian who has published several scholarly volumes and one previous collection of poetry. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)

November 2005 LC: 2005011174 PS 88 pp.  6 x 9 3 computer graphics Cloth edition, ISBN 0-299-21400-1, is out of print. Paper $15.95 t ISBN 978-0-299-21404-3 ADD TO CART

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