Born in the Year of the Butterfly Knife

by Derrick Brown

Overview

The most famous collection and largest selling title on the Write Bloody roster.

Butterfly Knife contains such award winning pieces such as "The Kurosawa Champagne," A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me," "Pleased to Meet You Yellow," "The Chinese Elevator" and "Hot for Sorrow." These are his classic, unforgettable works of poetry and fiction from 1993-2004.


Praise


"A wit as sharp as Sedaris, a sensibility as poignant as Sexton, Brown manages to blur the lines between cult writer and poet with remarkable ease and grace."

- Anthem Magazine


"Derrick Brown's work-both on and off the page-sizzles with jolting images and blasts of humor, yet retains a deep compassion at it's core. He has a heart the size of a Mack truck, but we're not sure who's behind the wheel."

- Jeffrey McDaniel


"Sincere, twisted and violently romantic."

- OC Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780978998905
Publisher:	Write Bloody Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/2004
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	11 Years

About the Author

Derrick C. Brown is a novelist, comedian, poet, and storyteller. He is the winner of the 2013 Texas Book of The Year award for Poetry. He is a former paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne. He is the owner and president of Write Bloody Publishing, which Forbes and Filter Magazine call "...one of the best independent poetry presses in the country." He is the author of eight books of poetry and four children's books. The New York Times calls his work "...a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words." He lives in Los Angeles.

Read an Excerpt

The Kurosawa Champagne

Tonight
your body shook,
hurling your nightmares
back to Cambodia.

Your nightgown wisped off
into Ursula Minor.

I was left here on earth feeling alone,
paranoid about the Rapture.

Tonight
I think it is safe to say we drank too much.
Must I apologize for the volume in my slobber?
Must I apologize for the best dance moves ever?
No.

Booze is my tuition to clown college.

I swung at your purse.
It was staring at me.

We swerved home on black laughter
bleeding from forgettable boxing.

I asked you to sleep in the shape of a trench
so that I might know shelter.

I drew the word surrender in the mist of your breath,
waving a white sheet around your body.

'Dear, in the morning let me put on your make-up for you.
I'll be loading your gems with mascara
then I'll tell you the truth...'

I watched black ropes and tears ramble down your face.

Lady war paint.

A squad of tiny men rappels down those snaking lines
and you say:
"Thank you for releasing all those idiots from my life."
You have a daily pill case.
There are no pills inside.
It holds the ashes of people who died

... the moment they saw you.

The cinema we built was to play the greats
but we could never afford the power
so in the dark cinema
you painted pictures of Kurosawa.

I just stared at you like Orson Welles,
getting fat off your style.

You are a movie that keeps exploding.
You are Dante's fireplace.

We were so broke,
I'd pour tap water into your mouth,
burp against your lips
so you could have champagne.

You love champagne.

Sparring in the candlelight.

Listen -
the mathematical equivalent of a woman's beauty
is directly relational
to the amount or degree
other women hate her.

You, dear, are hated.

Your boots are a soundtrack to adultery.
Thank God your feet fall in the rhythm of loyalty.

If this kills me,
slice me julienne
uncurl my veins
and fashion yourself a noose
so I can hold you
once more.

Editorial Reviews

"A wit as sharp as Sedaris, a sensibility as poignant as Sexton, Brown manages to blur the lines between cult writer and poet with remarkable ease and grace."

- Anthem Magazine

"Sincere, twisted and violently romantic."

- OC Weekly

"Derrick Brown's work-both on and off the page-sizzles with jolting images and blasts of humor, yet retains a deep compassion at it's core. He has a heart the size of a Mack truck, but we're not sure who's behind the wheel."

-Jeffrey McDaniel,

From the Publisher