{"product_id":"the-collected-fiction-of-kenneth-koch-9781566891769","title":"The Collected Fiction of Kenneth Koch","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"It's lucky for us all that you're holding Koch's collected fiction in your hands right now. Koch's seasons on our earth were blessed ones and these traces, some of them among his last, are gifts.\"--Jonathan Lethem\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHilarious and profoundly moving, this volume restores to print all the fiction of the writer John Ashbery called \"simply the best we have.\" Koch, who once characterized New York School writing as about \"the fullness and richness of possibility and excitement and happiness,\" imbues his prose with humor, wit, and a beautifully tender exuberance. \u003ci\u003eThe Collected Fiction of Kenneth Koch\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read for anyone interested in discovering what American literature might still hope to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublished simultaneously with \u003ci\u003eThe Collected Poems of Kenneth Koch\u003c\/i\u003e (Knopf), \u003ci\u003eCollected Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e includes Koch's innocent and rambunctious novel \u003ci\u003eThe Red Robins\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eHotel Lambosa\u003c\/i\u003e, his book of semi-autobiographical short pieces inspired equally by Hemingway's Nick Adams stories and Yasunari Kawabata's \u003ci\u003ePalm-of-the-Hand Stories\u003c\/i\u003e. Fans of Koch's unparalleled gift for comic invention will turn immediately to \"The New Orleans Stories,\" a cycle about the family of a small-time criminal, published here for the first time along with \"The Soviet Room,\" a gentle story of requited love at the end of the Cold War. Koch's previously uncollected work includes a warm-hearted parody of a children's adventure narrative and a story detailing the mysteries uncovered by an obsessive postcard detective. Together, the work of Kenneth Koch opens up a wonderful world--one where the pursuit of happiness is taken very seriously indeed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKenneth Koch\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Cincinnati and served in the South Pacific during World War II. A poet, playwright, novelist, and Columbia University professor, Koch also published several books about teaching and reading poetry, including the groundbreaking \u003ci\u003eWishes, Lies, and Dreams\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eRose, Where Did You Get That Red?\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eMaking Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e. He was the recipient of the Bollingen Prize and the Bobbitt Library of Congress Prize, a finalist for the National Book Award, and winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Poetry Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Coffee House Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781566891769\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 387\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.32lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.16h x 6.06w x 1.14d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/05\/2005 pg. 36\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2005 pg. 62\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Kenneth Koch","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42784428523701,"sku":"9781566891769","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_57bd0ace-8ea5-49c5-a2bb-dddc700986f2.jpg?v=1680015556","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-collected-fiction-of-kenneth-koch-9781566891769","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}