The Wild Party: The Lost Classic

by Joseph Moncure March

Other authorsArt Spiegelman (Illustrator)
Paper Book, 1994

Status

Available

Publication

New York (NY) Pantheon Books 1994

Description

"Spiegelman's drawings are like demonic woodcuts: every angle, line, and curve jumps out at you. Stylishness and brutishness are in perfect accord." -- The New York Times Art Spiegelman's sinister and witty black-and-white drawings give charged new life to Joseph Moncure March's Wild Party, a lost classic from 1928. The inventive and varied page designs offer perfect counterpoint to the staccato tempo of this hard-boiled jazz-age tragedy told in syncopated rhyming couplets. Here is a poem that can make even readers with no time for poetry stop dead in their tracks. Once read, large shards of this story of one night of debauchery will become permanently lodged in the brain. When The Wild Party was first published, Louis Untermeyer declared: "It is repulsive and fascinating, vicious and vivacious, uncompromising, unashamed . . . and unremittingly powerful. It is an amazing tour de force."… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Brumby18
loved the poetry - wild indeed - great film noir if put that way. a rousing tale of love and greed and lust with retribution gallor.
LibraryThing member caseybp
A true treasure and wildly fun.
LibraryThing member piemouth
A narrative poem from 1928 describing a night among louche theater people. It was widely banned but still a big success. It's powerful not just for being daring but also wonderfully written, and I say this as someone who doesn't like poetry much. I can't stop thinking about the ending. Art
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Spiegelman did expressive illustrations for this 1994 version in a woodcut style reminiscent of Lynd Ward.
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LibraryThing member Sheila1957
Poetry because it rhymes. Graphic novel because of the illustrations. Jazz Age tempo of a party on one night and its consequences.

I enjoyed it. I read it out loud to get the cadence and rhythm of the language. It gets more intense at the end. It is a story of jealousy and temptation, opportunities
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taken and opportunities missed. I found it interesting to see how the fast crowd lived and partied written by someone who was alive then. Different but a keeper.
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Language

Barcode

6231
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