PRODUCT
…is such a commercial word. Sometimes people who have heard Jack McCarthy want
to purchase some of his work. Who can say why? All of these books, chapbooks and
CDs are available from Jack (standupoet@yahoo.com).
But if you’re in a hurry and Jack happens to be traveling, you might do better
to go through one of the publishers listed below.
IN STOCK:
“Actual Grace Notes,” 44 pages; mostly poems written 1996-2000. Includes Substances, The Walk of Life, and all four surviving Cartalk poems. From Jack, $5 plus mailing. Also available online at www.poetryslam.com or at www.thewordsmithpress.com.
Jack’s CD, "Breaking Down Outside a Gas Station," 45 minutes of live A-list crowd-pleasers, including 3 Cartalks, Substances, "the crying poem," Neponset Circle, Chalupa, SUV, and The Walk of Life; always available for $10+shipping from Jack or at www.thewordsmithpress.com.
"Say Goodnight, Grace Notes: New and Corrected Poems” (98 pages, includes almost all the poems mentioned above) has been justly called “the definitive Jack McCarthy.” It is !YES! AVAILABLE FROM BARNES & NOBLE! But you can still get it directly from the publisher: http://www.em-press.com. There’s a glowing review from the American Library Association Booklist below, and another wonderful review at http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/03/51/art-infante.php; and an awfully nice article at http://www.hippopress.com/books/030403_spokenword.html.
MOST RECENT CHAPBOOK: “disGrace Notes, Confessions of a Relapsing/Remitting Catholic,” was a winner in Pudding House’s annual competition. Jack calls it “a poetic memoir of my lifelong love-hate relationship with the Church, and our ultimate estrangement.” Available now from Pudding House! Or from Jack for $10; he’ll eat the postage.
AVAILABLE SOON FROM EM PRESS: a new CD, studio produced: “By Gift Unearned.” As the first CD emphasized slam poems and crowd-pleasers, the emphasis here is on quieter work and longer poems. A voice to keep you company—and keep you awake—on those long rides home late at night. Scheduled for release in March.
"The Spoken Word Revolution Redux" came out early in 2007. Jack has a poem and an essay in it, and YES! IT'S AVAILABLE IN EVERY BORDERS AND BARNES AND NOBLE IN THE COUNTRY and many, many other bookstores! DEFINITIVE ANTHOLOGY.
Temporarily out of stock: “Grace
Notes:” 67 pp of 20 years of Jack’s best stuff up to 1996, which includes
his first 3 years of slamming, but also a lot of years when he was writing only
one poem a year. Includes "the crying poem," Drunks, Neponset Circle, and
Odysseus. Was maybe the best buy in poetry at $6.
ALA BOOKLIST REVIEW of SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACE NOTES (EM Press)
McCarthy has been writing poetry for decades, but not much came of it until 10 years ago when he turned 50, married his second wife, and decided to read his work at a Boston-area open-mike poetry night. McCarthy is now not only a much-loved star in the performance poetry world, he's also a vibrant and inspiriting poet on the page. A self-described working guy who has battled a number of unhealthy addictions, McCarthy brings his compelling experiences to his poetry with nimble humor, hard-won wisdom, and a raconteur's knack for telling diabolically barbed stories. In his admiring introduction, poet Thomas Lux praises McCarthy for his "natural, unforced," voice, and for his unfailing lucidity, and indeed, McCarthy is concrete, candid, personal, and utterly captivating. He's also caustic, sexy, and smart. As he writes with wry insight about his boyhood, Catholicism, the Red Sox, asteroids, his daughters, old cars, advertising, our time as the "Golden Age of the Opinion," 'and his love for his wife, he casually but resoundingly extrapolates invaluable lessons in living from each memory, episode, observation, and meditation. -- Donna Seamanr
Feel free to contact us at mark@em-press.com
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