“Somewhere between Jo Ann Beard’s The Boys of My Youth and Amy Schumer’s stand-up exists Kim Addonizio’s style of storytelling . . . at once biting and vulnerable, nostalgic without ever veering off into sentimentality.” —Refinery29 “Always vital, clever, and seductive, Addonizio is a secular Anne Lamott, a spiritual aunt to Lena Dunham.” —Booklist A dazzling, edgy, laugh-out-loud memoir from the award-winning poet and novelist that reflects on writing, drinking, dating, and more Kim Addonizio is used to being exposed. As a writer of provocative poems and stories, she has encountered success along with snark: one critic dismissed her as “Charles Bukowski in a sundress.” (“Why not Walt Whitman in a sparkly tutu?” she muses.) Now, in this utterly original memoir in essays, she opens up to chronicle the joys and indignities in the life of a writer wandering through middle age. Addonizio vividly captures moments of inspiration at the writing desk (or bed) and adventures on the road—from a champagne-and-vodka-fueled one-night stand at a writing conference to sparsely attended readings at remote Midwestern colleges. Her crackling, unfiltered wit brings colorful life to pieces like “What Writers Do All Day,” “How to Fall for a Younger Man,” and “Necrophilia” (that is, sexual attraction to men who are dead inside). And she turns a tender yet still comic eye to her family: her father, who sparked her love of poetry; her mother, a former tennis champion who struggled through Parkinson’s at the end of her life; and her daughter, who at a young age chanced upon some erotica she had written for Penthouse. At once intimate and outrageous, Addonizio’s memoir radiates all the wit and heartbreak and ever-sexy grittiness that her fans have come to love—and that new readers will not soon forget.

Bukowski in a Sundress: Confessions from a Writing Life

Biographies & Memoirs

Addonizio, Kim

Arts & Literature

Penguin Publishing Group

The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

Reference

Laux, Dorianne

Foreign Language Study & Reference

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

What Is This Thing Called Love: Poems

A new collection of poetry from the author of Tell Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. From lilting lines about a love that "dizzies up the brain's back room" to haunting fragments betokening death and decline in a suffering world, Kim Addonizio articulates the ways that our connectionsto the world, to self, and to othersendure and help make us whole.

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

A lyrically intense fifth collection from “one of the nation’s most provocative and edgy poets” (San Diego Union-Tribune). With both passion and precision, Lucifer at the Starlite explores life’s dual nature: good and evil, light and dark, suffering and moments of unexpected joy. Whether looking outward to events on the world stage―the war in Iraq, the 2004 Asian tsunami―or inward at struggles with the self, these poems aim at the heart and against the feeling that Lucifer may have already won the day. from “Lucifer at the Starlite” Here’s my bright idea for life on earth: better management. The CEO has lost touch with the details. I’m worth as much, but I care; I come down here, I show my face, I’m a real regular. A toast: To our boys and girls in the war, grinding through sand, to everybody here, our host who’s mostly mist, like methane rising

Lucifer at the Starlite: Poems

W.W.Norton&Company

“Kim Addonizio’s voice lifts from the page, alive and biting―unleashing wit with a ruthless observation.”―San Francisco Book Review
Passionate and irreverent, Mortal Trash transports the readers into a world of wit, lament, and desire. In a section called “Over the Bright and Darkened Lands,” canonical poems are torqued into new shapes. “Except Thou Ravish Me,” reimagines John Donne’s famous “Batter my heart, Three-person’d God” as told from the perspective of a victim of domestic violence. Like Pablo Neruda, Addonizio hears “a swarm of objects that call without being answered”: hospital crash carts, lawn gnomes, Evian bottles, wind-up Christmas creches, edible panties, cracked mirrors. Whether comic, elegiac, or ironic, the poems in Mortal Trash remind us of the beauty and absurdity of our time on earth.
From “Scrapbook”: We believe in the one-ton rose and the displaced toilet equally. Our blues assume you understand not much, and try to be alive, just as we do, and that it may be helpful to hold the hand of someone as lost as you.

Mortal Trash: Poems

From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well.
The Poet's Companion presents brief essays on the elements of poetry, technique, and suggested subjects for writing, each followed by distinctive writing exercises. The ups and downs of writing life―including self-doubt and writer's block―are here, along with tips about getting published and writing in the electronic age. On your own, this book can be your "teacher," while groups, in or out of the classroom, can profit from sharing weekly assignments.

History & Criticism

Poetry from the author of Tell Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. A chestnut with a white blaze is scorching across the turf towards the finishing post.

In this fresh approach to writing poetry, the coauthor of the perennially popular The Poet's Companion offers sharp insights into the craft of writing. "The creative process is just that," maintains Kim Addonizio. "Not a means to an end, but an ongoing participation." A widely acclaimed poet and finalist for the National Book Award, Addonizio meditates on her own process as she encourages writers to explore both their personal and political worlds, to seek inspiration from poets new and old, and to discover the rich poetic resources of the Internet. Lively, accessible, and informative, Ordinary Genius?provides wisdom gleaned through personal experience and offers a heady variety of writing exercises. Chapters on gender, addiction, race and class, metaphor and line invite each individual writer to find and to hone his or her unique voice. This is the perfect book for both experienced writers and beginners eager to glimpse the angel of poetry.

Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within

"Addonizio doesn't do pretty; beneath her considerable wit is a wickedly sharp edge."―Library Journal, starred review With both passion and precision, Lucifer at the Starlite explores life’s dual nature: good and evil, light and dark, suffering and moments of unexpected joy. Whether looking outward to events on the world stage―the war in Iraq, the 2004 Asian tsunami―or inward at struggles with the self, these poems aim at the heart and against the feeling that Lucifer may have already won the day. from “Lucifer at the Starlite” Here’s my bright idea for life on earth: better management. The CEO has lost touch with the details. I’m worth as much, but I care; I come down here, I show my face, I’m a real regular. A toast: To our boys and girls in the war, grinding through sand, to everybody here, our host who’s mostly mist, like methane rising

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Addonizio, Kim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Addonizio, Kim

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Addonizio, Kim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Bukowski in a Sundress: Confessions from a Writing Life

The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

What Is This Thing Called Love: Poems

Lucifer at the Starlite: Poems

Mortal Trash: Poems

The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

What Is This Thing Called Love: Poems

Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within

Lucifer at the Starlite: Poems

Mortal Trash: Poems