Belligerence
Poems by Andrei Codrescu

Belligerence is Andrei Codrescu’s first book of poetry since Coffee House published Comrade Past & Mister Present, which The New York Times Book Review hailed as the work of "one of our most prodigiously talented and magical writers."

"The erotics with the theatrics," Codrescu calls this new poetic work. The "erotics" are here in abundance, ranging from the cornucopic to the occasionally perverse. As for the "theatrics," they are both plentiful and fun. Codrescu’s magical theater is a lasting experience.

These lush, continually inventive poems use exacting language, spectacular imagery, and playful, irreverent wit. Codrescu eschews polemic in favor of a disillusioned yet resilient stance. Renewing the tradition of the poet as social critic, these poems bristle with insight into the moral, sexual, and political taboos of our day.

Codrescu has published several books of essays including his recent radical critique of the post-Iron Curtain world, entitled The Disappearance of the Outside. While many of his essays have the whimsicality and musicality of poetry, it is his poetry that forms the primal roots of his writing and extends to the far reaches of his imagination. "Here," Codrescu says, "I am no longer condemned to an excessive sobriety by my prose."

Romanian-born American poet, memoirist, editor, and journalist, Andrei Codrescu is a Professor of English at LSU, and is editor of The Exquisite Corpse, a literary magazine. Poems in this collection have been published in New Directions Annual and Sulfur. He is also a regular commentator of National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered."