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THE COMEDY AND POETRY OF DERRICK BROWN


Who is this guy?

Derrick C. Brown

Derrick C. Brown is a poet, novelist, comedian, and storyteller. In 2023, Paste Magazine named his Comedy and Poetry Record 'Album of the Year.' He is the winner of the Texas Book of The Year award for Poetry. The New York Times calls his work “…a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words.”

He is a former paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne. He is the owner and president of Write Bloody Publishing, which Forbes and Filter Magazine called “…one of the best independent poetry presses in the country.” He is the author of ten books of poetry and four children’s books. He lives in Los Angeles.

Read Derrick's latest book

LOVE ENDS IN A TANDEM KAYAK

For fans of the fantastical. For fans of unforgettable, gut-punch imagery.

This is a visceral book that purposefully rollercoasters from humor to heartache. This new collection holds three chapters that venture from love and memory into loneliness and sorrow, ending in the chase for hardcore joy. Due to patient years of editing, tweaking, and sorting, this is Brown’s most thoughtful collection. The pages have an economical beauty, and it is the most complete, compelling, and stunning book the author has ever written.

New vinyl available from Sub Pop / PGF Records

A Close Shave With Heaven

Winner of Paste Magazine's Album of the Year, 2023

"...Brown is also obviously not afraid to get vulnerable with his audience. The trope of the depressed, tortured stand-up is oft-repeated for a reason, and Brown delves into his own grief in a way that’s somehow sad and funny and ultimately insightful, all so he can show us “how the sausage is made.” 
More than anything, though, A Close Shave with Heaven leaves the listener with a newfound exuberance for the world around them. Brown is a poet, a comedian, and, for those moments we listen to him, the wry voice of hope."

Derrick Brown doesn't just report from the human condition, he sings it— capturing how it feels to be absolutely alive in poems that are simultaneously romantic, wacky, soulful, wounded and full of wonder.

Janet Fitch
Author of White Oleander

There’s something that happens when you read Derrick Brown, a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words... When you read any of his work...or when you have the fantastic fortune to watch him perform it in person, you yourself are a bit more alive.

Joel Lovell
Deputy Editor of NYT Magazine

Derrick Brown makes the often unbearable art form of poetry a true, unexpected joy. I think there's a reasonable chance he is America's greatest living poet and you will enjoy his work.

Eugene Mirman
Comedian and voice actor

Derrick’s poems, for me, are so generous. Generous in their wit and honesty, mesmerizing fragments of vivid memories. Like sitting next to the most fascinating drunk stranger and hearing his tales. All of them are happily part of my life now.

H. Jon Benjamin
Comedian and voice actor

My daughter dragged me to see this guy. She was going on and on about him. I can't say I understood much of it, but I did laugh a good bit. None of his poems rhyme though so just be prepared. Once you get past that it's actually pretty good.

Someone's random boomer dad
Retired

I wish I had written "Patience." I mean written it down on paper. I've thought it to myself several times in different countries, but now Derrick has re-earned my trust after initially losing it by naming his book, Scandalabra, with a pun.

David Cross
Comedian and actor

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