Hell, I Love Everybody: The Essential James Tate. Poems

An essential collection of James Tate's extraordinary poems that will captivate today's readers, with a foreword by Terrance HayesCelebrating James Tate's work as it transcends convention, time, and everything that tells us, "No, you can't do that, " Hell, I Love Everybody gives us the poet at his best, his most intimate, hopeful, inventive, and brilliant. John Ashbery called Tate the "poet of possibilities, " and this collection records forays into possibilities for American poetry's future.
With a foreword by Terrance Hayes, it is sure to give readers new and old a lasting collection of favorites. What happens when a dog is promoted to a human, a trip to the candy store becomes a lesson in metaphysics, and an alien visitor just wants to meet a real cowboy? Absurdist Humor: Discover a world where Popes are chosen at 7-Eleven, a goat is named the Prince of Peace, and the rules of a candy store defy all logic.
Deadpan Voice: A calm, matter-of-fact narrator guides you through the most bizarre situations, from finding a nearly transparent extraterrestrial in his kitchen to being mistaken for a dog in a past life. Modern Fables: Meet characters who find themselves in surreal predicaments-a lost pilot in a compulsive orbit, a painter of the night, and blue antelopes that can make you disappear. Unexpected Tenderness: Beneath the wild invention and comedy, find moments of profound intimacy, where a blue booby's nest or a simple statement like "Hell, I love everybody" reveals a deep and open heart.