Miscreants: Poems

by James Hoch

"A wonderful, fresh, and striking collection" (Eavan Boland) from the winner of the 2001 Gerald Cable Book Award. At the heart of this collection is an intense rendering of a young boy's murder and the lives of those who endured it. Reminiscent of the work of B. H. Fairchild and Larry Levis, Miscreants investigates memory, family, violence, and the transition from boyhood to adolescence in the decaying, working-class towns of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2007

Reviews

[Inverted · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, there are three distinct groups of poems in this book: Acts of Disappearance up to Defenestrations, the Bobby Almand poems, then everything that comes after. I'm not sure why Hoch has placed the Almand poems in the middle, but it made the subsequent poems quite stale. Arrangement aside, there were some very interesting moments in the book. Excited for Hoch's new book.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark. Raw. Real.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoch shows a true helplessness to the main subject of this book: the abduction and murder of a close boyhood friend. There is no real way to understand why this happened, or how it makes him feel, and it is to Hoch's credit that he can refrain from the easy resolution, or the manufactured poetic closing that seems to make it all OK. What gets in the way of this very sincere narrative is the extra narrative surrounding the group of adolescent boys who also knew Bobby. There are too many wooden moments, where I'm being told how crazy times were back then, for me to fully embrace this book.

[paulA neves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry lovers who grew up working class in dysfunctional families in and around Jersey and PA may especially appreciate these poems. Notables: "Crop Circle," "The Court of Forgetting," and "Bobby Allmand."

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite collection of poetry ever, but I do really like some of Hoch's poems. The images in this collection, especially, are downright amazing. There were a few -- haunting, disturbing, downright devastating -- that were so powerful I'm not sure I'll ever forget them.

[Elizabeth Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend James Hoch wholeheartedly. Bold and visceral. Just beautiful.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I will reread at a later date and have a change ofmind, but after one reading I was disappointed.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book! I love the clarity and honesty of voice: Hoch holds NOTHING back about his childhood and early adulthood. The 20-part "Bobby Almand" poem is haunting in all the right ways.