American Comic Poetry: History, Techniques and Modern Masters

Comic poetry is serious stuff, combining incongruity, satire and psychological effects to provide us a brief victory over reason—which could help us save ourselves, if not the world. This book champions the literary movement of comic poetry in the U.S., providing an historical context and exploring the work of such writers as Denise Duhamel, Campbell McGrath, Billy Collins, Thomas Lux and Tony Hoagland. Their techniques reveal how they make us laugh while addressing important social concerns.