The Incognito Lounge And Other Poems
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''The Incognito Lounge and Other Poems'' is a collection of lyric poetry by
Denis Johnson Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, ''Tree of Smoke'' (2007) ...
. Published in 1982 by
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, the volume was Johnson's fourth book of poems. The volume was selected by Mark Strand for the National Poetry Series in 1982.


Poems


Critical appraisal

John Casteen, writing in Voltage Poetry ranks ''The Incognito Lounge and Other Poems'' as one of Johnson's two literary "masterpieces", the other his short fiction volume '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). Nicholo Niarchos in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', while acknowledging Johnson's fine prose, considers it "a shame that the author is not more known for his verse": Alan Williamson of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' writes: "Johnson convinces me that he suffers over the anomie he describes. He is hard on himself, as well as on the culture; and he is agonizingly aware that life can be, and has been, different from the life around him." Williamson praises "Passengers", one of the sonnets in the volume. Poet Ray Deshpande of the
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...
notes that while Johnson was "adept across genres, writing plays and searing war reportage in addition to fiction, one finds a distinctive voice in his four short books of poems." Among the poets influenced by Johnson are
Bianca Stone Bianca Stone is a Brooklyn based poet and visual artist. Her poems have appeared in literary magazines and poetry collections, and her illustrations are a part of Anne Carson's project, ''Antigonick''. Early life and education Stone graduated ...
, Matt Hart, and
Lucie Brock-Broido Lucie Brock-Broido (May 22, 1956 – March 6, 2018) was an American author of four collections of poetry. Biography She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, she was Director of Poetry in the Writ ...
. Deshpande quotes poet
Jorie Graham Jorie Graham (; born May 9, 1950) is an American poet. The Poetry Foundation called Graham "one of the most celebrated poets of the American post-war generation." She replaced poet Seamus Heaney as Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at ...
: "Lord knows, I couldn't have written without Denis Johnson's ''The Incognito Lounge''..." Poet Richard Miklitsch writing in ''
The Iowa Review ''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews. History and profile Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origin ...
'' considers the title poem "The Incognito Lounge" the "premiere" work in the volume, one that "twists tradition in such a way as to ''seem'' wholly independent of it." Miklitsch adds: "Johnson's imagination seems particularly suited to this kind of poem, one composed of seemingly self-contained anecdotes that, put together, produced a skewed but strangely satisfying story." Miklitsch regards a number of the poems in the collection as technically "unfinished", in particular "From a Berkeley Notebook": Among those poems in the volume that succeed in making "the ordinary extraordinary" Miklitsch cites "Heat", "Enough", "At the Olympic Peninsula", "Ten Months After Turning Thirty" and "The Flames." In the verse that forms "The Circus" Miklitsch locates Johnson's "poetic personality":


Footnotes


Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Incognito Lounge and Other Poems, The 1982 poetry books American poetry collections Books by Denis Johnson Poetry by Denis Johnson Random House books