What do you think?
Rate this book
My American Kundiman
From one of our most charismatic poets, a personal song to America.
This pulsating collection picks up the beat and imagery of Patrick Rosal's thrilling debut, Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive . Here, though, the poet's electric narratives and portraits extend beyond the working class streets of urban New Jersey. Modeling poems on the kundiman, a song of unrequited love sung by Filipinos for their country in times of oppression, he professes his conflicted feelings for America, while celebrating and lamenting his various heritageswhether by chatting up St. Patrick, riffing on race relations, or channeling Lapu Lapu in a rejoinder to Magellan. Passionate, provocative, and irrepressible throughout, My American Kundiman further establishes Rosal as a poet to be reckoned with.
This pulsating collection picks up the beat and imagery of Patrick Rosal's thrilling debut, Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive . Here, though, the poet's electric narratives and portraits extend beyond the working class streets of urban New Jersey. Modeling poems on the kundiman, a song of unrequited love sung by Filipinos for their country in times of oppression, he professes his conflicted feelings for America, while celebrating and lamenting his various heritageswhether by chatting up St. Patrick, riffing on race relations, or channeling Lapu Lapu in a rejoinder to Magellan. Passionate, provocative, and irrepressible throughout, My American Kundiman further establishes Rosal as a poet to be reckoned with.
- GenresPoetry
65 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
171 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 4, 2020
"Because a beautiful woman once broke my heart without trying I've spent long stretches of my life perfecting one amnesia after another and I'm telling you someone is shouting my name on Avenida Santa Fé She is calling from that lovely nowhere and when a woman sings for you like that how will you wander where you wish alone How will you not want to go back to kiss her and have her taste an entire river's silver soaked in the shallows of your bones"
September 11, 2023
Something about this collection reminded me of the song “Apple Tree” by AURORA. So much rhythm and bounce to these poems. Images and scenes that spill from one another, so many sensations to experience. Enjoyed this one!
July 3, 2015
Patrick Rosal is actually coming to the college I attend for poetry reading month. I will admit that I knew nothing about this guy until one day I checked my syllabus and saw his name. Like I mentioned hundreds of times on this blog, I don't read poetry very often and every time I find something, it's fantastic. Do expect this post to sound silly.
So the first thing I noticed is that the poetry in this book seems to have a beat to it. I know that poetry, depending on the style of writing, is supposed to be in some sort of singing or rhyming, flowing formula. Wow this post already sounds stupid. His poetry has this fresh beat to it, like hip hop or something, like he could be writing about an orange and a chocolate bar and it would probably be awesome.
What I love the most about this book more than anything, is how he turns life into poetry. Love, dancing, music, fathers and mothers, women, culture, family and childhood are all 'sung' in this book. They are personal, real, and emotional. You can smell, maybe even taste, and feel the pain and the love. That's really the only thing I can say about American Kundiman. It's real, I can imagine and feel the stuff of life. A lot of people write poetry about events in their life but they never paint it the way he does. I don't know how to describe it, but it's freaking good. I will admit that I didn't understand it, but I can feel it, and that's the most important thing about poetry.
It's a book that contain's Patrick in it, he's in those words. His every emotion, every tear, every ounce of sweat. I hope this isn't a weird way to describe this, but I remember finishing this and having that same feeling I get when I read a novel that touched my heart.
Rating: 4/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
So the first thing I noticed is that the poetry in this book seems to have a beat to it. I know that poetry, depending on the style of writing, is supposed to be in some sort of singing or rhyming, flowing formula. Wow this post already sounds stupid. His poetry has this fresh beat to it, like hip hop or something, like he could be writing about an orange and a chocolate bar and it would probably be awesome.
What I love the most about this book more than anything, is how he turns life into poetry. Love, dancing, music, fathers and mothers, women, culture, family and childhood are all 'sung' in this book. They are personal, real, and emotional. You can smell, maybe even taste, and feel the pain and the love. That's really the only thing I can say about American Kundiman. It's real, I can imagine and feel the stuff of life. A lot of people write poetry about events in their life but they never paint it the way he does. I don't know how to describe it, but it's freaking good. I will admit that I didn't understand it, but I can feel it, and that's the most important thing about poetry.
It's a book that contain's Patrick in it, he's in those words. His every emotion, every tear, every ounce of sweat. I hope this isn't a weird way to describe this, but I remember finishing this and having that same feeling I get when I read a novel that touched my heart.
Rating: 4/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
October 17, 2019
I loved this so very much. There are few books of poetry I feel overcome with the desire to sit and read front to back with no other books vying for my attention, and this was one of them. Rosal's poems have everything I love most about the genre -- a strong rhythm and voice, amazing language and imagery, inherent momentum even on page, and best of all, a kind of honest heart that is all at once raw and beautiful and takes your breath away. Definitely a book that I look forward to rereading again many times in the future.
June 29, 2017
I enjoyed this book. I really liked the poet's meter and descriptions of various cityscapes. I really enjoyed reading his verse.
Read
June 25, 2019Rosal is a charmer with sonics.
April 27, 2020
This was my first introduction to Patrick Rosal & I definitely wasn't disappointed! So many good poems in here, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this poet in the future.
June 29, 2016
This is a gorgeous collection of poems.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews