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A review by madelinemadeline
What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland
2.0
This book, to me, is the American Beauty of books of poetry.
I didn't see American Beauty when it came out (too young), but I did see it when I was seventeen, and thought it was brilliant then…but then I grew up a little, and realized that American Beauty is actually not brilliant at all, that it's embarrassing how smart it thinks it is. I think the world kind of agrees with me on this one; yes, the film won Best Picture, but since then, it seems to have undergone a critical reevaluation that leaves it looking significantly less essential than it did in 1999.
What Narcissism Means to Me was published a few years later, and like American Beauty, it hasn't aged well. These are poems by a white male poet who thinks he has some valuable things to say about American culture. In actuality, there is very little in this book that proves insightful; most of Hoagland's attempts at providing smart cultural commentary are so obvious and full of cliches that they're painful to read, and the casual misogyny and racism running through so many of these poems made them particularly difficult to stomach. It's a bit astonishing to me that this book was well received in the first place, and I have to believe that if the people who wrote the blurbs on the back were to reread these poems now, they'd regret ever having endorsed them.
I gave this two stars for two reasons. Hoagland's writing, while often simplistic or even despicable, occasionally turns up a few lines or phrases that I like. I can also appreciate his style; as someone who gets tired of reading poetry that's esoteric or heavily abstract, I respect Hoagland's commitment to writing in the language of the real world. I just wish he had something more interesting to say.
I didn't see American Beauty when it came out (too young), but I did see it when I was seventeen, and thought it was brilliant then…but then I grew up a little, and realized that American Beauty is actually not brilliant at all, that it's embarrassing how smart it thinks it is. I think the world kind of agrees with me on this one; yes, the film won Best Picture, but since then, it seems to have undergone a critical reevaluation that leaves it looking significantly less essential than it did in 1999.
What Narcissism Means to Me was published a few years later, and like American Beauty, it hasn't aged well. These are poems by a white male poet who thinks he has some valuable things to say about American culture. In actuality, there is very little in this book that proves insightful; most of Hoagland's attempts at providing smart cultural commentary are so obvious and full of cliches that they're painful to read, and the casual misogyny and racism running through so many of these poems made them particularly difficult to stomach. It's a bit astonishing to me that this book was well received in the first place, and I have to believe that if the people who wrote the blurbs on the back were to reread these poems now, they'd regret ever having endorsed them.
I gave this two stars for two reasons. Hoagland's writing, while often simplistic or even despicable, occasionally turns up a few lines or phrases that I like. I can also appreciate his style; as someone who gets tired of reading poetry that's esoteric or heavily abstract, I respect Hoagland's commitment to writing in the language of the real world. I just wish he had something more interesting to say.