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Crush (Yale Series of Younger Poets) Paperback – April 11, 2005

by Richard Siken (Author), Louise Glück (Foreword)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,043 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Erotica Fiction Writing Reference
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The 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets competition: a powerful, confessional, erotic collection 
 
Finalist for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry
 
“Siken writes about love, desire, violence, and eroticism with a cinematic brilliance and urgency that makes this one of the best books of contemporary poetry.”—Victoria Chang, Huffington Post
 
Richard Siken’s Crush, selected as the 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets prize, is a powerful collection of poems driven by obsession and love. Siken writes with ferocity, and his reader hurtles unstoppably with him. His poetry is confessional, gay, savage, and charged with violent eroticism. In the world of American poetry, Siken’s voice is striking.
 
In her introduction to the book, competition judge Louise Glück hails the “cumulative, driving, apocalyptic power, [and] purgatorial recklessness” of Siken’s poems. She notes, “Books of this kind dream big. . . . They restore to poetry that sense of crucial moment and crucial utterance which may indeed be the great genius of the form.”
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    80 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    April 11, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    7.46 x 5.66 x 0.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300107897
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300107890
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One book I keep returning to is Richard Siken’s Crush. . . . The poems are vivid, heaving things, stuffed with obsession and surprises. . . . The poems aren’t comforting, but they’re invigorating. This is a book about thrashing around in the great big world, being messy, being alive.”—Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times Book Review

“Siken writes about love, desire, violence, and eroticism with a cinematic brilliance and urgency that makes this one of the best books of contemporary poetry.”—Victoria Chang, Huffington Post

“Vital, immediate, and cinematic in scope, [Siken’s] verse offers sharply observed vignettes of longing, love, and pain.”—Library Journal (Best Poetry of 2005)

“Crush embodies an impressive unity of sex, the currents of feeling that carry us helplessly, fleeting encounters that often promise physical transcendence but leave us unloved or emotionally drained. . . . Crush is a vivid, fast-paced book that may be read as a single, powerful sequence.”—Antioch Review


“Every poem in Crush is every bit as immediate, engaging, and absorptive as the best films; [Siken] holds the reader rapt, making it almost impossible to look away from the beautiful and troubling scenes he sets. . . . Siken’s breathtaking debut possesses all the ingredients of poet Charles Harper Webb’s formula for great poetry: wit, passion, and impropriety. Through his powerful use of the second person, Siken reaches out to you, the reader, pulls you into his picture show, makes you the reluctant star. By the end of the collection, you are left feeling implicated, participatory.”—Kathleen Rooney, New Hampshire Review

“Siken’s debut collection, 15 years in the making, hurls the reader into a world of nerve-wracked love—relationships haunted by obsession and futility expressed with such eloquence as to make the pain of it strangely alluring. With sophisticated wordplay and provocative shifts between first and second person, Siken expresses a frustration with earthbound details and bodily confinement. He effectively juxtaposes holy wishes with mundane images—making them both seem beautiful by some strange lyrical alchemy—throwing love in with the sock drawer.”—Nell Casey, poetryfoundation.org

“An explosive, frantic splash of language and imagery that depicts both tremendous tenderness and vivid violence between male lovers. Richard Siken writes a pulsing, rambling, surrealistic, and cinematic verse. . . . While the language and energy and pure sensational vision of this poetry might seep into your soul like the whiskey so often invoked in these pages, you will taste the salt of blood on your tongue after you finish reading Crush—and you will never look at love and the comfort it promises the same way again.”—Maureen Picard Robins, Rain Taxi

Finalist for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry

Winner of the 2005 Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry, sponsored by The Publishing Triangle

“Crush is a wondrous, brilliant book. Richard Siken’s poetry is daring in its construction, graceful yet startling in its beauty, and complicit with emotions and states of mind that would have remained unintelligible without him.”—Dennis Cooper

About the Author

Richard Siken lives in Tucson, Arizona. He is cofounder and editor of the literary magazine spork.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; 32037th edition (April 11, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 80 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300107897
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300107890
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.46 x 5.66 x 0.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,043 ratings

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Richard Siken

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,043 global ratings
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Copy Looks Used, but Content is 5 Stars
This poetry is electric, but my (supposedly new) copy looked used when it arrived. $10 isn’t worth the inconvenience of returning, but it’s definitely annoying.
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Top reviews from the United States

Andrew C Stackhouse
5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous & Thoughtful Poetry
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2022
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“Crush” by Richard Siken is a chapbook of poems that work perfectly together. What is it like to be a boy that falls for another boy? They both love each other, but they aren’t supposed to voice it. All set against a backdrop of hallucinatory dreams, obsession, maybe murder, & a crushing world none of us really fit in. Siken has a truly great way of creating images with his sometimes violent, sometimes beautiful, & sometimes both words. The poems also feel like a serial, asking you to devour them in one sitting. & then read them again. I’ll definitely read again. 💜

“I Had a Dream About You” is probably the poem I like best, though “You Are Jeff” is the poem I’ll continue to think about.

Also, from Louise Glück’s forward, “And the triumph of ‘Crush’ is that it writhes and blazes while at the same time holding the reader utterly: ‘sustaining interest’ seems far too mild a term for this effect. What holds is sheer art, despite the apparent abandon.”
2 people found this helpful
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Antoine de Saint-Exupery
5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry that reels you back in again and again
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2011
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Crush is a three part collection of poetry. The first two parts are almost flawless while the third has some moments of weakness. That said, the first two parts are so good that the third part can not detract from their power.

Part One establishes several motifs that wind their way through the poems of parts two and three effectively binding them together. The mood of part one also throws the reader into a sense of claustrophobic grief and yearning that pervades the poems.

While at times difficult to read, the poems are strikingly honest and immediate. The sexual undertone is both symbolic and explicit at once: in The Torn-Up Road, Siken provides the powerful metaphor of "a boat slamming into the dock."
Siken frequently uses "You" turning the reading experience into a conversation between the reader and the poet. Although the poems are often tragic they are also filled with surprising humor. "We clutch our bellies and roll on the floor...When I say this it should mean laughter, not poison."

Part Two is similar to part one but the poetry is even wilder and more tightly focused on the crush. "Boot Theory" is a spectacular opening poem and "Saying Your Names" provides an equally exquisite closing.

The final section is the most philosophical and at times the meaning becomes opaque as in the mammoth poem "You are Jeff" it is unclear what emotional argument Siken is trying to capture with his extended metaphors.

However, the final poem "Snow and Dirty Rain manages to summarize the emotional journey of the collection and brings a sense of closure. Siken hits several helpful notes and provides a thesis for the entire collecion: "We can do anything. It's not because our hearts are large, they're not, it's what we struggle with."
Part
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Amalia H.
5.0 out of 5 stars CRUSH makes poetry come alive again
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
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CRUSH is an exceptional book of poetry that does not lose in depth of artwork and mastery when compared to other historical masterworks. Despite this, it is still very approachable. Unlike many other collections of poetry, it can still be appreciated on an experiential level by those who do not have extensive prior knowledge about poetry.
However, it is not light reading. The main themes are personal reflection on the experiences of living as a gay man, using the medium of film as a tool throughout to address stereotypes, storytelling, and the way we transition between different stories that we tell about ourselves. Despite this, the book also has humorous elements and is very witty.
With time and discussion, greater depth can always be found in the poems. After taking the time to sink into Siken’s style, this collection becomes a treasure trove of lyricism, confrontation with reality, and heartfelt reflection. This is one of the few books that really inspired me to continue writing poetry.
His style is unique and well-developed throughout. Siken is a master of phrasing and incorporating colloquial language into his poetry. Overall, on a stylistic level and content-wise, this is a really exceptional book. I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in poetry, but especially people who have lost interest and are looking for something to ignite their imagination again. For those people who wish to appreciate the genre and are looking for a more accessible way into poetry, this may not be the first book to go to, but it could be one of the first few.
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Shonda
5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry that will stick with you
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2016
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I bought this book simply because I was intrigued by the cover. After the first few poems, I was hooked. Richard Siken writes with a sense of longing and urgency. Take this, for example:

"You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you. And you feel like you’ve done something terrible, like robbed a liquor store, or swallowed pills, or shoveled yourself a grave in the dirt, and you’re tired. You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist, and you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you didn’t even have a name for."

The words fall over themselves in the most beautiful, almost aching way. I've read my book numerous times now, and everytime I find something new I didn't see before. Completely recommend!
33 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars wow
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2023
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read the whole thing in one sitting. dont know if i ate it up or it swallowed me whole
8 people found this helpful
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Natasha Hewson
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2023
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Best poetry book I've ever read, raw emotions and evocative read. Richard Siken is an author unlike any other. I haven't found a poem of his I don't like. Incredibly inspirational and sometimes I have to sit with a poem for a bit and process everything. Best kind of poetry, I keep crush in my handbag and literally take it everywhere with me. Absolutely incredible book.
One person found this helpful
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Lala DC
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is beautiful
Reviewed in France on October 3, 2018
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I was deeply touched by this, nothing more to add

*If you like this, you'll enjoy "Physical" by Andrew McMillan(?), one of the best poetry books I've ever read
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Prita
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my God! What a lovely piece of art ...
Reviewed in India on June 23, 2018
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Oh my God! What a lovely piece of art and literature. Trust me, if you are into poems and all, this book is worth your buck
One person found this helpful
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Ylenia Vinci
5.0 out of 5 stars Una nuova esperienza
Reviewed in Italy on December 12, 2016
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Poesie rabbiose e disperate. Di solito preferisco poeti più "gentili", ma proprio l'impeto e la sincerità di Siken me l'hanno fatto amare. Felicissima dell'acquisto.
2 people found this helpful
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Adamary Esqueda
5.0 out of 5 stars Richard no tiene chill.
Reviewed in Mexico on August 27, 2016
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Los poemas se sienten como un golpe al estómago y un beso en la boca. Also, la portada es increíble (!!!), demuestra de qué trata la colección. ¿Beso o golpe?
2 people found this helpful
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