Sex & Love &

Bob Hicok is such a quiet master of the form of poetry. It's rare to find a poet whose work you can press into the hands of friends who are poets & friends who have never read a poetry book in their lives. Hicok's work has always been that to me: deceiving simple, plain-spoken with barely contained storm locked in each piece. With SEX & LOVE &, Hicok has written some of the most beautiful love poems I've ever read -- and not because they speak of love as unspoiled or unbent, nor does he write of love as ugly or fleeting. Rather, the love he shares for his wife in this latest collection is human and marveling. He examines the life and love with a watchmaker's focus, taking it apart and putting it back together, and holding it up to his ear, smiling at its ticking: persistent and comforting. The poems about sex also come from that same human and marveling place. He writes frankly & warmly about the shifting landscape of sexual love in a long term relationship, the things that change as years go on, and the things that stay the same. But throughout all the poems, you return to the same place: gratitude. No matter how much he tumbles through the elements of his life and his marriage, they all click together as that place. This is a beautiful tribute to the love of husband for his adored wife, and another Hicok book I will be giving as a gift for years to come.

Hicok turns his unflinching attention to intimacies, real and imagined. Sex & love &, yes, death are the dominant themes in this collection. The poems range in subject from the erotic to cancer, technological disconnect to conflicts of gender and identity. All the poems are watermarked by Hicok ' s exuberant cosmicomics (to borrow from Calvino) meaning a sense of humor about our place in the cosmos that is not "ironic", acerbic or mean but in its searching intelligence more akin to truth. I picture him at his desk every morning with the glee of a boy designing the coolest, craziest tree house for his friends to hang. His curiosity knows no bounds and you know, with no room left for doubt, that he freakin cares. That rarest quality in human beings, let alone famous poets: he actually gives a damn. And he'll have you laughing the whole rollicking ride through. Sit back, light a spliff and drink these poems in. It'll be good for your soul, your date and the universe.

A wonderful and inspiring poet.Down to earth but uplifting.

Great poetry from one of our best

Very sexy surprising earthy

Yep

Raw, brave, beautiful, and breathtakingly intimate, this collection is wonderful. I love this book.