Hold - by Bob Hicok (Paperback)

About the Book

Despite an America flooded with dangerous hypocrises, Bob Hicok celebrates the unapologetically sentimental wonder of living at all.

Book Synopsis

"Bob Hicok is a spectrum... I'd love to see an MRI of his brain while he's writing, as the neurons show us what's possible, how a human can be a thought leader, taking us into the future... Hicok interrogates the world with mercy and wit and style and intelligence and modest swag. He's one of America's favorites--and to make the reader want to share the poet's reality fulfills poetry's finest aspiration." --Washington Independent Review of Books

"In his ninth collection, Hicok navigates a world bereft of empathy and kindness, leading by example with a charm and emotional intelligence that speaks to a deep insight into the human condition... Mixing cleverness with tenderness, Hicok demonstrates how to be a beacon of light in the darkest of settings." --Publishers Weekly

Bob Hicok's tenth collection of poetry, Hold, moves nimbly between childlike revelry and serious introspection. While confronting the rampant hypocrisies of the American collective unconscious, Hicok is guided by his deep and tender sense of whimsy and humility. Pointing to the natural world as a mirror through which to rediscover human beauty, he pauses to unapologetically celebrate the wonder of living at all.

From "About the size of it"

. . . my breath
shuttling in and out, as if it can't decide
between stay and go, the little bird
long gone by the time I realize
the sun has set and it will soon feel
like my father was never here, which is no big deal
compared to the erasures the world endures
and offers every day, except this one is mine

Bob Hicok teaches at Virginia Tech University and is the author of ten collections, including Animal Soul, This Clumsy Living, Elegy Owed, and Sex & Love &. He is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, respectively.

Review Quotes

"Bob Hicok is a spectrum... I'd love to see an MRI of his brain while he's writing, as the neurons show us what's possible, how a human can be a thought leader, taking us into the future... Hicok interrogates the world with mercy and wit and style and intelligence and modest swag. He's one of America's favorites--and to make the reader want to share the poet's reality fulfills poetry's finest aspiration." --Washington Independent Review of Books "In his ninth collection, Hicok navigates a world bereft of empathy and kindness, leading by example with a charm and emotional intelligence that speaks to a deep insight into the human condition... Mixing cleverness with tenderness, Hicok demonstrates how to be a beacon of light in the darkest of settings." --Publishers Weekly "Hold... urges readers to consider our faults as a nation--environmental destruction, gross financial inequities, police brutality. By turns wry and witty, Hicok's plain-spoken writing highlights some of the pleasures and pains in this world, and humanity's need for reflection."--Washington Post "In Bob Hicok's Hold... the poet's humor, punning, wit, wisdom, and humility lead to small revelations, introspections, and musings on the human condition--all in the face of danger and atrocity. If Hold asks many questions throughout, they are not rhetorical, nor are they theoretical--instead, they're practical questions about our world. In a unique blend of punchline and sincerity, Hicok confesses, 'I'm scared, but not shitless.' As its title might suggest, this book yearns for and struggles to hold strong to self and to community, to hold to the body, to hold to the world, to hold--yes--to optimism, to hope."--Arkansas International "As always, the multi-award-winning Hicok manages to be both freshly whimsical and knife-sharp insightful in his latest collection." --Library Journal "Bob Hicok is that rarity, a cheerful contemporary poet―if not completely happy, still hopeful and celebrative." ―Los Angeles Review of Books "Yet ultimately the most potent ingredient in virtually every one of Bob Hicok's compact, well-turned poems is a laughter as old as humanity itself, a sweet waggery that suggests there's almost no problem that can't be solved by this poet's gentle humor." ―The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Bob Hicok is the author of ten collections, including Animal Soul, This Clumsy Living, Elegy Owed, Sex & Love &, and Hold. He is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim. Currently, Hicok teaches at Virginia Tech University.