tony tost's Invisible Bride
We are starting Tony Tost's Invisible Bride next week. In preparation for your reading, I would like you to visit the Carrboro Poetry Festival webpage and listen to an MP3 of Tony Tost reading at last year's festival. Please make specific connections to the previous poetry we have read this semester (use of images, pacing, surrealist elements etc.)
The link for festival is here:
Carrboro Poetry Festival
also, if you have not attended a poetry reading this semester, you are running out of time. There are three more poetry readings around UNCG this semester. They all take place on Friday's at 8PM at St. Mary's house. St. Mary's house is located at 930 Walker Avenue (around the corner from NY pizza on Tate Street). Here are the dates:
April 15: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
April 22: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
April 29: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
if you can make it to Chapel Hill there are a few very good readings coming up as part of the Desert City Reading Series. Lisa Jarnot, one of the poet's we will read this semester, is reading in this series. These readings take place on Saturdays at 8PM at the Internationalist Bookstore. The Internationalist Bookstore is located at: 405 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Here are the dates:
March 26, Saturday, 8pm:
Kent Johnson & Patrick Herron
April 23, Saturday, 8pm:
Lisa Jarnot & Andrea Selch
April 30, Saturday, 8pm:
Lee Ann Brown & Carl Martin
These readings usually last about one hour.
The link for festival is here:
Carrboro Poetry Festival
also, if you have not attended a poetry reading this semester, you are running out of time. There are three more poetry readings around UNCG this semester. They all take place on Friday's at 8PM at St. Mary's house. St. Mary's house is located at 930 Walker Avenue (around the corner from NY pizza on Tate Street). Here are the dates:
April 15: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
April 22: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
April 29: MFA Thesis Reading, St. Mary's House, 8:00 PM
if you can make it to Chapel Hill there are a few very good readings coming up as part of the Desert City Reading Series. Lisa Jarnot, one of the poet's we will read this semester, is reading in this series. These readings take place on Saturdays at 8PM at the Internationalist Bookstore. The Internationalist Bookstore is located at: 405 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Here are the dates:
March 26, Saturday, 8pm:
Kent Johnson & Patrick Herron
April 23, Saturday, 8pm:
Lisa Jarnot & Andrea Selch
April 30, Saturday, 8pm:
Lee Ann Brown & Carl Martin
These readings usually last about one hour.
posted by marcus silcock at 8:26 AM
36 Comments:
After listening to Tony Tost reading his work, I can hear a definite connection to the movement of Surrealism; however, I feel that Tost takes Surrealism in a different way. His images are less gruesome, and are a little more realistic, but they are still images that we would normally not wish to think of. For example, a girl with an apparatus to speak with is not something someone would want to think about or bring to anyone's attention, but it is not as surreal as Benjamin Peret's images of excrement in "Joan of Arc."
Stefanie Tallent
Of the poets that we've been introduced to so far, Tony Tost is one of my favorites. His style consists of using surrealism as a foundation, but he also uses that to make readers think about life in more depth. Especially the poem he had about the "Beards". When I listened to it, I no longer just think of beards as beards on men, but trials and tribulations in life, and those beards that we know of, but hope to avoid. The surrealism that Tost focuses on contrasts with other surrealists', such as Breton, in the way that he doesn't just think of reality and fantasy as one. Tost views reality and fantasy as seperate entities, yet they both have a relationship in which one affects the other.
Airreia Smith
Rebekah Bair-Sanders
After listening to Tony Tost once, I had to listen to him again, and again , and again. I would call him a Surrealist, but with a more tangable vision. When he talks about his fathers "Black rag for a lung" this reminds me of a oil rag dripping or an X-ray of a lung cancer victim. Both of these images we might have been exsposed to in real life. Tost also brings together previously neglected associations like Noll and Peret. When he talked about his lovers hands wise with violoence and lips like wips this reminds me of how , in nature, all love and sex is violent and tenderness is lost on animals. But like Mallarme, I don't believe he just wants to hand you a meaning or an image. "The machine made her feel like the dreams where no longer hers, this made her feel happy because the disturbing dreams wouldn't bother her." I know that he is talking about someone who lost their larnex and has to use a "talk box", but I also see our response to media. The majority of us won't watch our local news, but when it comes to world events, we refuse to miss a minute. The "local" brings unhappieness and reality to close, but out in the "hethened" world we are the light in the darkness, we are untouchable.
Tony Tost would definetly be considered a surrealist. He used the dream like qualities in his poens to make them unique. However the dream like connections are not as vulgar as the ones in other poems we have read. For example in "The Spurt of Blood" there are more clear references to sex. Tony Tost spoke of sex but it wasn't as vulgar in his poetry. He simply talked about losing his virginity briefly. He also had very vivid imagery in his poems. The poem about beards was full of images of different places and things that can be associated with beards. I never thought of a beard being associated with sorrow or regrets. I found it interesting how he used everyday thoughts and feelings to describe something as simple as facial hair. Tony Tost's poems seem to be more down to earth than others we have read. He used surrealist elements in a softer sense than other poets like Andre Breton and Benjamin Peret. It was also good to hear his poems from him. It added to the experience in that you could hear the poems how he intended for you to hear them.
Megan Foster
After listening to the reading by Tony Tost, I have come to the conclusion that his work ties in closest to surrealism. It is quite interesting. It seems as if most poetry has a base of surrealism. Perhaps it is the most lyrical and mysterious form of poetry. Which in return makes it either 1)fun poetry to write or 2)the most expressive way to put your thoughts down on paper.
He seems to use beauty with awkward images such as, "My neighbor got married in a torn skirt and the newspaper grew dark with wisdom." Marriage is a beautiful thing, and wisdom most of the time is a good thing, but the newspapers growing dark with it take it to a different level. It takes it to the complete opposite of the spectrum. marriage = beautiful but out of it comes dark wisdom. He does this a lot in his poetry. He does have a level of sensibilty to his poetry. whereas the first works of surrealism were more of "objects" and spoken thought. his poetry has more realistic images that allow the reader/listener to understand both the real and surreal, such as a dead hostage. We can put the real (hostages are possible) and the dead, we can clearly see this together though not likely, which in turn creates surrealism.
He uses descriptive images that take us into his own personal "dreamwork." For example a women being born with a flipper. where else would an image like this come up, other than in a dream.
Personally, i enjoyed his reading and am looking forward to reading his book.
~lisa thompson~
Tony Tost uses surrealist images throughout his poetry. Some of these images seem to be of life experiences, "my neighbor got married in a torn skirt and the newspapers grew dark with wisdom." Tost provides a humorous side to his poetry which makes fun of reality. "I lost my virginity in the shadows," could be thought of as simply a figure of speech, or seen as a surrealist image. As Tost reads each line of the poem, there is evidence of pacing throughout the work.
Nicole Parker
Tony Tost uses surrealist images throughout his poetry. Some of these images seem to be of life experiences, "my neighbor got married in a torn skirt and the newspapers grew dark with wisdom." Tost provides a humorous side to his poetry which makes fun of reality. "I lost my virginity in the shadows," could be thought of as simply a figure of speech, or seen as a surrealist image. As Tost reads each line of the poem, there is evidence of pacing throughout the work.
Nicole Parker
I think by hearing Tony Tost, I was able to get a better understanding than just reading a poem. I was able to hear his tone and how he worded things. He does have a connection to surrealism. I especially like the poem "mid 80's to late 90's". It talked about some things he had done or been through, which gave me an understanding of him as a person. Some things were very personal, like him losing his virginity. I thought it was funny to talk about his neighbor's wedding drama. Tony Tost is definitely good at using real life experiences and situations.
Johnna' Burns
In Tony Tost's readings I could hear a definite connection to surrealism. I really enjoy haw he connects back to real-life experiences, instead of made up ones that real people can not relate to. One of the characteristics of surrealism being a "super-reality" was made obvious to me as I listened to him read. His works are very personal and the reader can definitely get a feel of what Tost is like when he's writing. You get to see who is beihind the writing.
~~Natisha Webb~~
Listening to Tony Tost was very interesting, especially before he began reading, I liked the way he spoke like a normal person saying "uh" alot and then "I'm going to read some stuff." This was amusing to me. As far as his poetry and writing it was violent as he stated, and had a very depressing setting, all except the poem about the beard wasn't as bad as the other three. The second and fourth poems both contained frequent repetition about the machine and then as I flew through the window. I found the second poem interesting about the man being held captive by the gorillas without water and electricity as rats crossed the floor. Then how this life became his identity and the only way he knew himself was by his hunger. These poems put things together in a juxtaposition way such as Sunday morning and losing virginity. I thought it was neat how while he read the second poem, sirens were going off in the background, even though this wasn't planned, it also added to the reading. The overall feeling of his poems are negative and are much like many of the poems we have read in class. It makes me wonder why can't these writers focus on the happy aspects of life such as love or peace. It is amusing that they pick the most vulger things to write about almost as if it is a contest who can create the worst images to the readers.
Whitney Johnson
Tony Tost reminds me of some of the surrealist poems we have seen before. He uses crazy metaphors such as in the poem Mid to Late Nineties, he says “a pair of big tits, and a few thousand skulls.” In this line he contrasts a persons traits to objects characteristics. He does this a lot throughout all of his poems. I think in this poem he’s going back to what he remembers about the nineties and his personal views. He refers to himself and his parents, basically expressing his views of the world. With his use of pacing, I think was very good. It was a moderate pace, clear wording, and he had a good use of diction. All of the poems had many surreal elements. When he said “two out of three Americans believed they were the eighth wonder of the world.” I think his surrealist views are dreamlike views that he wants to make real or vivid. His use of imagery is very dramatic. Good use of detailed words. His use of descriptive words had me saying “what is he going to say next.” Also the order in which he came out with the lines were random, which I guess is a good thing.
~James DeGraffenreid~
Tony Tost has great work and inorder to catch his details I had to repeat this poem a few times. I like the rest of the class believe that he too is a surrealist. He doesn't use distinct dramatic images like Mallarme. Tost uses a more natural sense of language which people deal with every day. The blackening of the lungs and phrases like that people come in contact with evey day even if they don't necessarily talk about it. It isn't as graphic as the video we watched in class.
Tiffany Buie
After listening to Tony Tost recite his poems, I gained a deeper appreciation for poetry readings. Normally I expect poets to be very articulate and proper like English teachers. But Tost appears to be an average guy so you would not expect him to write such profound poetry. I noticed he uses many surreal images and metaphors throughout his works. My favorite was the poem about his beard. He says “My beard is a bridge between my past and my face.” This was interesting to me because I see people with beards every day, but I never took the time to analyze a beard itself. Beards can tell a lot about a person like their age, or how organized a particular person is. Beards can also connect people to specific memories. Tost recognizes this when he said “My beard of sugar is in the rain, my beard of regrets.”
- Paul Gilliland
"my dad fell off the wagon and all i got was this lousy tee shirt."
tony tost is a poet who produces sereal images but layers them with heavy irony and also humor. the humoris (that is a word right? if not it should be.) elements help get readers or in this case listeners attention - it keeps them tied in rather than thinking "i don't know where he is going with this." i think all in all tony tost is a very reader/listener friendly poet. whose message can be understood and ejonoyed at different levels by poetry buffs, intellectuals, and sparadic readers alike.
I thought Tony Tost was a good reader with a nice, slow pace. It seemed a bit slower than some things we listened to in class because I could better understand the words, but it wasn't too slow though. It was just right, a good speed to keep the listener's attention. There were a couple of images in particular that I seem to remember after listening to Tony Tost. For instance, I see Tony Tost standing there as a little boy wearing a T-shirt that says "Dad fell off the wagon, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt." I see a woman getting married in a torn skirt. Some of the images I picked up on delineated some surrealist elements in their comparisons. For instance, "bruises had been sprouting our legs like light green dandylions." Dandylions aren't usually something that you associate with legs or bruises. There was also mention of California flooded in beards (it makes me see the whole state of Califonia just covered in beards), hair of ashes, and every beard has its thorn (I see beards full of thorns). All of these comparisons are juxtaposed, revealing the surrealist in Tony Tost. Others include "moths in white plastic buckets," and "small children lost and wandering in coffins." So after listening to Tony Tost, I am intrigued by the surrealist images that he delineated, and I am excited about reading the invisible bride because I think I can better decipher how he might read it after hearing his pace and very casual tone of voice in the MP3 reading.--Jessica Dickerson
There is a correlation between Tony Tost’s poetry to surrealism. Surrealism deals with the subconscious mind, things that are push to the back of our mind. Similar to surrealism Tony Tost states, “Poetry is a good way to embrace your inner conservatives.” In his first and second poems there were a few violent stuff that was mentioned such as a few thousand skulls, dead hostage, and execution before the camera. He’s saying that poetry is a good approach to talk about things that you normally wouldn’t think or say. In contrast to the violent matters that were discussed, Tony’s poems also contained comical lines. Two of the examples include, “My dad fell off the wagon and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” and “As I flew through the windshield I knew being nice does not work like magic.” He uses two distinctive elements in his poems, which are violence and humor.
Hong Ton
When I listened to Tony Tost I realized that he used a lot of images in the poems. For instance their was one image that really stuck out to me and that was when he talked about the hand and the window. He said that when you put your hand threw the window you can see and feel the future. In another one of the poems that Tony Tost read he gave the image of his beard. The poem gave very distinctive descriptions of his beard. At one point in the poem he compares his beard to the ocean. Tony Tost had very good poems that he read with really good images.
Kelsey Bowers
Tony's poetry is stuffed with surrealist images, however it is almost kind of narrative too. It's like there is a story going on, some happening, and we get his thoughts. We get what he makes of it. E.g. "As I flew through the windshield I knew being nice did not always work like magic." It's like something happened, when he was nice and it didn't play well for him, so he turns it abstractly into a feeling obscure that the reader/listener can't really place where it's coming from. Every now and then he gives minute details of the story and what is happening, but he leaves most of the story line up to the imagination of the reader. The surrealism is clearly seen in "My beard" numerous times. He talks about Stalin's beard, twice the size of Russia. These surrealist characteristics are also seen in Breton's Free Union, about his wife's hair being a brush fire.
In his poetry he embraces violence as a means to maybe not vent but in order to classify his random thoughts, visions, or what not. Like the futurist.
Karin Aydelette
I relate Tony Tost to the surrealist movement that we studied in class. He seems to take it to a different level however. He uses plain diction and clear images. Though his images are not very humble in thought. He uses personifaction directed toward his father's hunger. Most of his images are everyday things but yet there are still a few images that we don't encounter from day to day. He has a way that he relates to his poetry as he reads that makes it become alive like a story that you would find yourself in.
amber mains
As I listened to Tony Tost, I did not really see him as a surrealist poet. He has some of the most "down to earth" poetry that I've heard in this class so far. Instead of being in a dream world, he talks about real things in his poetry such as in the poem called "Mid to Late 90's". These things that he discusses like how people acted then are very realistic. The language in his poems remind me of Neruda. It is not very fancy language, but it is pretty plain English and easy to understand. There was a bit more imagery in the poem with no title, but really, I just saw his works as a "this is how it is" type of thing. He also spoke of Stalin in one of the poems...which reminded me of Neruda's controversy.
Shera Gadson
After listening to tony tost reading, the first thing i can notice in his poetry is humor. He says a couple of things that are sarcastically funny, and i find it easier to understand his poetry because of it. Another thing i like about his poetry is the fact that he links it to a story, he uses quotes which had a narrative passage to his poetry. tony tost says "poetry is kind of a good way to embrace your innernio conservative" and that is exactly what he does extremely well expresses himself.
Arnetta Hardy
Tony Tost's reading of his work was very interesting. I could hear some sort of connection to Surrealism; but at the same time he seemed to be put into the realist category. To me his images appeared to be a lot less gruesome and graphic; however, he still describes and talks about images that you would not see normally. His use of surrealism allows the readers to think more in depth about life. My favorite poem was the one he had about the "Beards" because is was about more than just a beard on a man's face. It was about the many ups and downs and "trials and tribulations" (Airreia Smith)that we experience in our lives.
Na'Kol M Curtis
After listenting to Tony Tost's reading, I was able to see the connections of Surrealism. But it was if it was in a different form. Some elements of "Surrealism" are, "...to draw from the juxtaposition of those dislocated fragments, a new, super-reality, rather than a mere destruction of the old." The form in which I saw with Tost was that it was more relivant, personal, and general conversation. It was if his poetry is everyday reading. True, many if not all the images that he portrayed in his reading were surreal and revealed that of juxtapositoning, but it did indeed do so with a common type of jargon. An example of such is his poem about his beard. The ideas and associations made with a beard, were some that I would have never percieved, but with is common language, it was made easier for me to understand and relate to.
-Amelia L. O'Neal-
When I had listened to Tony Tost at first, I could get into his poetry because I was trying to get into the words that made up the poem, rather than his feelings when reading, or what he could've felt when writing this poem. So, I had to listen one more time and discovered the humor & use of lanuage. He definetely uses surrealism!! But, I think he uses it as a foundation for his poetry. He builds off of it in order to write in the way that he does. That's what makes his poetry so enjoyable. Yes, his humor is found all throughtout his work...but on my second time around to it...I had to really take the words in depth. Sure, he talks of words like "tits, black rags for lungs, and speaks of American's," but, a reader really has to look past that. He uses examples that are soo realistic! Also, he used some type of dream-like qualities that I found that relted him to a surrealist.
Samantha Ray
(i look forward to hearing him in person...this should be a treat)!!!
You get a different experience listening to Tost read as just reading it yourself the tone brings out elements that you dont get reading it for yourself. the surrelist nature of the work acts as a foundation but doesnt seem to be the main idea of the poetry. the juxtopostion is lighter, less harsh and drastic. it leans more towrds everyday things that by themeselves seem unrelated but next to each shed different light on each other. Ohter images of a "black rag" for a lung are so real that you can see them in his voice. this is one of my faveorite that we have listend to and i look forward to hearing Tony read live.
-Alex Laube
After listening to Tony Tost's reading I know some Surrealism. The poem that talked about the dead hostage telling him and showing different objects and saying, this is surreal because the person that is dead doesn't talk. He talks about violence and language that people use today. Some images he uses are machines, blizzards, metaphores and for as comparisons. He isn't like other poets that we have been reading, he talks about more modern images and language. Overall, I liked some of his poems,I actually understood what he is talking about.
Tammy McRae
Listening to Tony Tost is like listening to a chronicle of modern American life, but with a great sense of irony. He explains the daily events of the world (war, violence, sexuality, traffic accidents, etc.) in a matter of factual way, stemming from a single viewpoint, and so entices the listener to discover the twist of facts: that the world is not ok, but it is so typical. In his descriptions, Tost makes a broad use of imagery, including surrealist images; every line presents the listener with a new picture. To achieve this both realistic and surrealist images, he makes use of many metaphors, transforming the everyday into the extraordinary. Some examples include the lines "her hair of ashes," "the beard of sorrow", "physicians are children wandering in search of their coffin." Furthermore, Tost uses repetition to stress his indirect but pungent opinions, for example by repeating the word "assassin", most likely representing his apprehension for the war in Iraq, but also the public fear of terrorism.
There are certain reoccurring themes that are found in nearly every poem. The first I identified was the hipocracy in American Christian faith. According to Tost, members of American society go to church only as if to be punching in a time card, while they sit and daydream, having no other god but themselves. Additional thems expressed in Tost's poetry include alienation vs. the perserverance of identity (the account of the imprisoned soldier), dreams and the separation from dreams as found in the use of surrealist images separating the real from the unreal, and strangeness vs. familiarity. Thus, as a whole, Tony Tost's poetry is an indirect mockery of average America, the Moral Majority, or of "neo-conservatives" (all three referring to the same group of people) and a somewhat passive desire to escape from the realms of this society.
The last post was by Tineke Misegades.
Tony Tost speaks with plain spoken words and funny quips but complex and intriguing metaphors. Images of violence, death, sadness, and pain flow throughout his poems. His poem about the hostage is written post death from the perspective of the deceased hostage. This is such a creative way to view a horrific act and experience. Most of us try to relate to the hostage from our perspective; Tony pretends he is the hostage reflecting on his captors and his means of dealing with such a horrible experience. Another of Tony's poems is about a women speaking through a machine. This poem relates to the hostage experience. It is painful and melancholy. The characters are unable to express their inner desires due to a worldly inconvenience (captivity by other humans or disease and machines). Tony's poem about his beard follows these characteristics, a line "burrow your heads in the beard of sorrow, people" sums up his perspective of reflecting on life's pain, sorrow, and missed opportunities. I would hope a more careful examination of his words will reveal a bit of optimism or opportunity between the lines of misfortune.
Matthew Modrow
I really enjoyed listening to Tony Tost read his work. I liked his style of poetry. Some of the poetry was almost like he was telling a story. I think Tost really touches on surrealism with his somewhat dream like aspect. In the last poem he read I liked how he would talk of flying thru a windshield and then go into talking about something totally different afterwards, but yet it would then relate. Tost used lots of images, which made the poems really easy to listen to. Usually I have a hard time just listening to poems being read, I like to read a long at the same time or something like that, but with all his images it made it easy to just listen.
Brianna Smith
After listening to Tost I had to listen to him about three more times before I could come to an understanding what the point he was trying to get across. He is a surrealist. However, I think he puts a whole new light on surrealism. I think that his use of image are more realistic.... It makes it easier to understand.
Ashlee Richards
After hearing Tony Tost poems I couldn't possibly understand what was being read and said until I heard it aloud. Tony Tost put so much into his poetry that you really cant say that he belongs in surrealist group of poets because he is so much more. He goes beyond the obvious things of surrealist by taking surrealist to another level. Like the poem about the beard you would normally think about a beard on a guy and thats it. But in his poem the beard symbolizes hard and difficult. Just the things that he have been through. His concepts of writting are so beyond the way we think, which allows the reader to put themselves in a totally new state of mind.
Andrea Brown
Listening to Tony Tost made me realize how significant poetry really is. Its power to pursade someone to think like you and its power to take over ones mind and take it to another level is incredible. This is what Tony Toast accomplishes with his writings, taking Surrealism to another level and also taking the readers mind to another level. He takes Surrealism to another level, he is not so drastic and gruesome, but more realistic. Though they are realistic they are still images one would never think of. This man is a GENIUS. Tony Tost focuses his surrealism on contrast with other surrealists'such as Breton, in the way that he doesn't think of reality and fantasy as one. He views them as two distinct and unique entities. I love his writings.
WENDY PAGOAGA
While listening to tony tost , I also realized how down to earth he is... I really think everyone can relate to him or at least ppl who have had their heart broken , he has a unique way of dealing with his pain.. by making a parallel world that deals with things and events that ppl have experienced ...very true to the feelings he is experiencing... It definatly inspitred me , and tought me a way to "cope" will past relashionships and any other problems I experience... I was amazed by tonys personable persona
Last blog by Brittany SNOW
Listening to Tony Tost was definately a treat to see what and how events in his life shaped is art really makes you appreciate the deeper meaning of poetry. I noticed a sense of sorrow about him as he stood in front of the classroom. He just seemed kind of blah to me not his speaking but his mannerisms. He definately had a connection to surrealism in his poetry and it is nice to see that some poets are still influenced by music like his favorite underground band. I definately felt a connection with the poem about the late 80's early 90's. That was the one poem I felt that I could definately relate to seeing as I had live in that time.
Kimberly Grimes 5588
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