{"title":"Andrei Codrescu","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"comrade-past-mister-present","title":"Comrade Past \u0026 Mister Present","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #9a6372;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoetry and essays by Andrei Codrescu\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eJune 1, 1986 • 6 x 9 • 112 pages • 978-0-918273-21-5\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe Romanian-born NPR commentator renews the tradition of the poet as social critic.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains several long poems as well as prose and journal entries, including memoirs and opinion on moral, sexual, and political issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndrei Codrescu, World Heavyweight Champion Poet, essayist, novelist, and screenwriter, was born in Sibiu, Romania, in 1946, and immigrated to the United States in 1966. Author, translator, and anthologist of some two dozen books, including \u003cem\u003eComrade Past \u0026amp; Mister Present\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eit was today,\u003c\/em\u003e Codrescu has edited the literary magazine \u003cem\u003eExquisite Corpse\u003c\/em\u003e and his provocative commentary is featured regularly on National Public Radio’s award-winning newsmagazine \u003cem\u003eAll Things Considered.\u003c\/em\u003e His honors include the Peabody Award for his film \u003cem\u003eRoad Scholar,\u003c\/em\u003e the Big Table Poetry Award, and the Literature Prize of the Romanian Cultural Foundation, as well as National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for poetry, editing, and radio. Codrescu currently resides in New Orleans, and is MacCurdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"text\"\u003e“This perpetual outsider offers ample evidence that even as his life grows more settled, he continues to push at his own outer limits. . . . [Codrescu] shifts effortlessly from comic surrealist to naturalist, philosopher to saint to madman, but he is always the seeker after transcendence, in thrall to the unknown.” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—New York Times Book Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CHPbeta","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43707425742,"sku":"","price":10.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1475\/9808\/products\/Comrade-Past-and-Mister-Present-RGB.jpg?v=1499210620"},{"product_id":"it-was-today","title":"it was today","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #9a6372;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoetry by Andrei Codrescu\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eSeptember 1, 2003 • 6.75 x 9.75 • 160 Pages • 978-1-56689-1462-2\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eAndrei Codrescu’s new work is the perfect tonic for America’s political, literary, and cultural hangovers.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn praise of Andrei Codrescu’s poetry, \u003cem\u003eHarper’\u003c\/em\u003es says “his command of language is superb, his writing beautifully original, and his insights piercing.” Part genius, part tongue-in-cheek provocateur, Codrescu is an audacious and passionate poet whose new work is the perfect tonic for America’s political, literary, and cultural hangovers. The heart of Codrescu’s first new collection in nearly a decade is a beautiful conceit containing the “recently discovered” correspondence between a warrior and a courtesan in fourteenth-century China. The rest of \u003cem\u003eit was today\u003c\/em\u003e contains poems about modern life and millennial malaise that are both unsparing and intimate, inventive and playful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndrei Codrescu, World Heavyweight Champion Poet, essayist, novelist, and screenwriter, was born in Sibiu, Romania, in 1946, and immigrated to the United States in 1966. Author, translator, and anthologist of some two dozen books, including \u003cem\u003eComrade Past \u0026amp; Mister Present\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eit was today,\u003c\/em\u003e Codrescu has edited the literary magazine \u003cem\u003eExquisite Corpse\u003c\/em\u003e and his provocative commentary is featured regularly on National Public Radio’s award-winning newsmagazine \u003cem\u003eAll Things Considered.\u003c\/em\u003e His honors include the Peabody Award for his film \u003cem\u003eRoad Scholar,\u003c\/em\u003e the Big Table Poetry Award, and the Literature Prize of the Romanian Cultural Foundation, as well as National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for poetry, editing, and radio. Codrescu currently resides in New Orleans, and is MacCurdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"text\"\u003e“Reading \u003cem\u003eit was today,\u003c\/em\u003e today, you will feel much better about your tomorrows.” \u003cstrong\u003e—Anselm Hollo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CHPbeta","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":2759307067416,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1475\/9808\/products\/It-Was-Today-RGB.jpg?v=1499210779"},{"product_id":"jealous-witness","title":"Jealous Witness","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #9a6372;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoetry by Andrei Codrescu, with music by the New Orleans Klezmer AllStars \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eSeptember 1, 2008 • 6 x 9 • 128 pages • 978-1-56689-217-9\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eAndrei Codrecu and the New Orleans Klezmer AllStars electrify fans in an unparalleled multimedia release.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in Romania, Andrei Codrescu understands the spirit of his adopted New Orleans, a city that consistently “refuses to conform to anything that is known about it.” When Hurricane Katrina blew through, the New Orleans landscape changed again and Codrescu, like his hero, “tolstoy exhausted having just written russia,” recorded it all. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis “Maelstrom: Songs of Storm and Exile,” performed by the New Orleans Klezmer AllStars on the accompanying CD, form the heart of a collection honoring the dispossessed and the artists, lovers, and cultural icons who have influenced Codrescu’s life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe New Orleans Klezmer AllStars (a “genre-crossing, heroically nutty Crescent City ensemble”—Billboard) have fired up people of all ages with their funky, raucous interpretation of traditional Jewish folk music. For this special release, they’ve teamed up with a number of guest singers, including Harry Shearer, of Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, the legendary New Orleans vocalist John Boutte, and the incomparable Ivan Neville.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWriter and NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu was working on a film exploring life along the Mississippi, when Katrina slammed into his hometown. After hosting scores of refugees in his Baton Rouge home, Codrescu released his essay collection \u003cem\u003eNew Orleans Mon Amour,\u003c\/em\u003e becoming one of the many important voices celebrating New Orleans culture, recording its devastation, and awakening America's conscience. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFormed in 1991, The New Orleans Klezmer AllStars have fired up people of all ages with their electrifying interpretation of traditional Eastern European Jewish folk music. Featuring a lineup whose members all lead their own groups, the band's tremendous crossover appeal keeps audiences dancing in the aisles at jazz venues, punk rock clubs, retirement homes, and university performance halls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"text\"\u003e“Klezmer music, which is both Old World and otherworldly, fits Codrescu’s poetry like a blue tarp fits your roof. (It may be argued that he’s been writing klezmer lyrics all his life.) . . . But the most effective numbers are by Codrescu himself—adding ‘lead singer’ to a resume that includes poet, novelist, memoirist, NPR commentator and LSU prof.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Advocate\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of our most prodigiously talented and magical writers.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Codrescu lives and writes at the edge of his imagination. He is a poet of hope and political defiance, or exaltation and exuberance.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNew Letters\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CHPbeta","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43707501006,"sku":"","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1475\/9808\/products\/Jealous_Witness.jpg?v=1515099566"},{"product_id":"so-recently-rent-a-world","title":"So Recently Rent a World","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #9a6372;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoetry by Andrei Codrescu\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eDecember 11, 2012 • 6.3 x 9 • 352 pages • 978-1-56689-304-6\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eA poetry selection that follows the upswell, downfall, and wake of 41 years of wrestling the muse.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSo Recently Rent a World\u003c\/em\u003e is a landmark poetry selection that follows the upswell, downfall, and wake of 41 years of wrestling the muse. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaconteur, poet, and NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu delivers in his inimitable, irreverent style a collection that traverses subjects from aging to consumerism and religion to mass media. Brilliantly funny yet deeply insightful, these poems illuminate Codrescu’s acerbic tone and outsized personality and capture the best of his oeuvre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndrei Codrescu, World Heavyweight Champion Poet, essayist, novelist, and screenwriter, was born in Sibiu, Romania, in 1946, and immigrated to the United States in 1966. Author, translator, and anthologist of some two dozen books, including \u003cem\u003eComrade Past \u0026amp; Mister Present\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eit was today,\u003c\/em\u003e Codrescu has edited the literary magazine \u003cem\u003eExquisite Corpse\u003c\/em\u003e and his provocative commentary is featured regularly on National Public Radio’s award-winning newsmagazine \u003cem\u003eAll Things Considered.\u003c\/em\u003e His honors include the Peabody Award for his film \u003cem\u003eRoad Scholar,\u003c\/em\u003e the Big Table Poetry Award, and the Literature Prize of the Romanian Cultural Foundation, as well as National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for poetry, editing, and radio. Codrescu currently resides in New Orleans, and is MacCurdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"text\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the 2013 National Book Award in Poetry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“For Codrescu, culture is no more nor less than the whole, and poetry its most faithful handmaiden. In a world where poetry is still often considered a highbrow pastime and a relic of a former cultural era, Codrescu’s exceptionally varied writing and career represent a kind of home run for poets and poetry everywhere.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRecours au Poeme\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Codrescu’s distinctive, playful, and iconoclastic work has always gone its own way. . . . [his] work stands as a distinctive chapter in the story of the New York School, and contemporary American poetry more broadly.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLocus Solus: The New York School of Poets\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of our most prodigiously talented and magical writers.” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—New York Times Book Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If Codrescu’s poetry has represented to some extent a mordant or ironic paen of the schizophrene, this observer has loved it. By providing this illogical logic, often using a surrealist lens, Codrescu illumines just how fractured our lives have become. He does so with a deft painterly touch. . . . In this new and selected book of poems, Codrescu is still one of our most skilled interlocutors and he sings above the abyss skillfully.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBest American Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSo Recently Rent a World\u003c\/em\u003e is a book rich in poetry and history. . . . Ingeniously organized.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBODY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eSo Recently Rent a World\u003c\/i\u003e gathers new poems and selections from the 16 books of verse that Codrescu has published since arriving in the U.S. as a teen refugee from communist Romania.” \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Times-Picayune\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Andrei Codrescu is today the great American poet of intercultural encounter, absolutely exceptional in his capacity to elucidate with analytical power, emotional sensitivity, and lyric force the most revealing points of tension between ethical and imaginative perceptions in a world under the gun. With sympathy for eruptions against authority, Codrescu has infused child-man rebellion and passionate desire into the many poems of self-recollection that are now presented with incisive comment and context in this 408 page collection entitled \u003ci\u003eSo Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems: 1968-2012.” \u003cb\u003e—Bacon Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Since his emigration from Romania in the late 1960s, his work has lodged itself in the poetic consciousness of both America and Europe for its sheer edges—its energy, its voice, its deft wit, and like all great dadaists, at heart, he is the hardest of realists, a man who cannot lie to himself above all others, in his poetry or in his ebullient criticism, journalism and collected writing.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePoetry International\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Occasionally, as one grows older, it’s time to tell it like it is. That, in any case, is the ‘bridge work’ of the new poems in this impressive collection, and it is surely the case that for Codrescu, ‘parentheses not closed.’” \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CHPbeta","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":2869560672280,"sku":"","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43707668174,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1475\/9808\/products\/So_Recently_Rent_a_World.jpg?v=1515105870"}],"url":"https:\/\/coffeehousepress.org\/collections\/andrei-codrescu.oembed","provider":"Coffee House Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}