At home with Ira
Bookforum has posted an enjoyable interview with U.S. literary agent Ira Silverberg, in which he and the reporter simply sit and sift though Silverberg’s book collection. Some of the most interesting and/or amusing titles are the long-forgotten ones by various minor-league celebrities and future literary stars. But the one Silverberg takes the most relish in displaying is a youthful work of poetry by fellow agent Andrew Wylie.
Students of publishing lore know that Andrew Wylie used to be a poet, but few have had the chance to peruse Yellow Flowers, a 1972 chapbook that collects some of the vaguely Mephistophelian superagent’s youthful versifications. “There’s a rumor that he has tried to buy up all of the copies,” says literary agent Ira Silverberg. It’s easy to see why: Thumbing through Silverberg’s copy of Yellow Flowers, one can only imagine what a Wylie client like, say, Benazir Bhutto would make of such poems as “Hands up Your Skirt,” “Warm, Wet Pants,” and the determinedly unlyric “I Fuck Your Ass, You Suck My Cock.”
Hearing of Wylie’s rhapsodic exertions, Quillblog was reminded of another agent, one closer to home, who attempted the art of poesy in her past: Denise Bukowski, who published a collection with Beach Holme in 1992 called Road Works. Only one alleged sample is available for perusal on the web, and it indicates that Bukowski’s no stranger to literary licentiousness herself. For her ode to “A Mexican Conquistador,” click here.
And if you’re interested in reading more of Wylie’s work, Gawker has a few excerpts up.
Thanks for finding that Bukowski poem. I’ll be having nightmares for a month.