As you are undoubtedly aware, James Franco is an extremely serious artist. He has received every Pulitzer Prize for the last 20 years, is the president of SAG, and has appeared — perhaps his greatest honor — in a groundbreaking commercial for Samsung. But all that pales in comparison to his achievements in the field of writing. He's truly a jack of all trades, master at one: Making us go big-eyed over his latest endeavor, time and time again.
After recent news that this God among men will be releasing a second book of poetry, we revisited the much-lauded Strongest of the Litter, Franco's aptly-titled poetry chapbook (what, you demand, is a chapbook? Only James Franco truly understands the depth of the term). Prepare for an emotional roller-coaster, filled with laughter, tears, joy, and pure, child-like awe at the fact that yes, this is real.
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Or maybe our sarcasm is misplaced. Maybe we're just those jerks who didn't understand Monet when he was changing the landscape of French painting and paving the way for a decades of groundbreaking artists. You be the judge.
From "Montgomery Clift"
"Burly Burt Lanaster feared you
Because of your latent power,
You played your character in
From Here To Eternity like a human"
From "My Name Is Paterson"
"My father died in my Jesus year,
He was sixty three and I was thirty
Three. He’d managed a few things
And so have I. I drive a bus."
From "Nocturnal"
"In fifty years
My sleep will be death,
I'll go like the rest,
But I'll have played
All the games and all the roles."
Want more? Need more? Get it for yourself on Amazon.
Photo: Courtesy of Hollyridge Press.