JACK McCARTHY - "One of the wonders of contemporary poetry." October 22, 2009

Jack McCarthy calls himself Jack McCarthy calls himself a "standup poetry guy."
Others have called him a "legend." Poet Stephen Dobyns calls him, "one of the wonders of contemporary poetry." The Boston Globe said, "In the poetry world, he's a rock star." He's an engaging minor character in the film "Slamnation," He's been in jail, but he can explain. He's won poetry slams from Seattle to San Antonio to Portland, Maine, and been featured as far away as Germany and Spain. High school students nationally perform his work competitively. You can find his work in books, chapbooks, CDs, and in several anthologies. See his website for more!

Poet Stephen Dobyns has written, "Jack McCarthy is one of the wonders of contemporary poetry. He writes-and often performs-dazzling narratives full of wit and humor, sadness and hard thinking. He should be cloned." Of Say Goodnight, Grace Notes, ALA Booklist says, "McCarthy brings his compelling experiences to his poetry with nimble humor, hard-won wisdom, and a raconteur's knack for telling diabolically barbed stories...concrete, candid, personal, and utterly captivating...caustic, sexy and smart."

Thomas Lux has written, "The only ambition he seems to have is to tell the truth as best he can in poems." That is a very worthy ambition, but it's not his only one. He also hopes to be remembered as an integral member of the movement to restore poetry to its rightful place in everyday American life. So that when Americans think of poetry, they don't think of school and homework, but of laughter and tears; a shortcut to the heart.

www.standupoet.net

October 23, Friday, 8 p.m