Quotes by August Kleinzahler

“Its not as if he didnt understand that much of his behavior was driven by desperation and self-hate, ... He wasnt shallow or unreflective, quite the contrary. It was simply the way he was. He was born wild, born troubled. He wasnt designed for the long haul; not everyone is.”

“The New Jersey character - at least this part of Jersey - is straightforward, plainspoken to the point of bluntness, though not at all unfriendly, ... The humor is deadpan, ironical, playfully depreciating. Affectation is quickly and viscerally registered.”

“I dont like to call myself a poet, ... Most poets are shiftless, no-account fools.”

What sort of life have you ledthat you find yourself, an adult male of late middle age,about to weep among the avocados and citrus fruitsin a vast, overlit room next to a bosomy Cuban Grandmawith her sparkly, extravagent eyewear?Its good that your parents are no longer alive.