I Hope Like Heck
Encyclopedia
I Hope Like Heck: The Selected Poems of Sarah Palin is a 2011 anthology
of 50 found poems
in emails by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin
, edited by Michael Solomon. The 24,000 emails were released to the public on June 10, 2011; I Hope Like Heck was released 11 days later.
Jacob Weisberg
, editor of Palinisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin, said of Solomon's book, "Not since Donald Rumsfeld's Pieces of Intelligence has an American politician arrived on the literary scene with such a stunningly unintentional poetic debut."
I Hope Like Heck was published by Byliner as a 64-page e-book
, priced at US$1.99 for the Amazon Kindle
, Barnes & Noble Nook
, and mobile devices running the operating systems Android or iOS.
Solomon said that it took two days of reading the emails to create and compile the poems, some of which are titled, "The Truth About The Moose," "You Are All Amazing – Except Maybe for Bruce," and "Carpe Per Diem." He turned various sentences from the trove of emails into verses, forming the humorous and sometimes absurd poems.
The title for I Hope Like Heck originated from an email regarding the proposed Gravina Island Bridge
, funding for which Palin hoped would be allocated by the Alaska State Legislature. The poem reads: "When asked about the Gravina Bridge / I hope like heck / Lawmakers are smart enough / To chop that out / Of the state budget / So I don't have to."
Calling Palin "Alaska's comedic bard," Solomon's introduction states: "Verse, like America, yearns to be free. Few 21st-century poets understand this better than Sarah Palin. Not since Walt Whitman
first heard America singing has a writer captured the hopes and dreams of her people so effortlessly – and with so many gerund
s." Subjects of the poems include moose hunting, beauty contest
s, Alaska politics, and tanning beds.
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of 50 found poems
Found poetry
Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and/or lines , or by altering the text by additions and/or deletions...
in emails by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, edited by Michael Solomon. The 24,000 emails were released to the public on June 10, 2011; I Hope Like Heck was released 11 days later.
Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg is an American political journalist, serving as editor-in-chief of Slate Group, a division of The Washington Post Company. Weisberg is also a Newsweek columnist. He served as the editor of Slate magazine for six years, until stepping down in June 2008...
, editor of Palinisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin, said of Solomon's book, "Not since Donald Rumsfeld's Pieces of Intelligence has an American politician arrived on the literary scene with such a stunningly unintentional poetic debut."
I Hope Like Heck was published by Byliner as a 64-page e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
, priced at US$1.99 for the Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
, Barnes & Noble Nook
Barnes & Noble Nook
The Barnes & Noble Nook is a brand of electronic-book reader developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the United States in October 2009, and was released the next month...
, and mobile devices running the operating systems Android or iOS.
Contents
Solomon, an executive editor of Byliner, said he examined some of the released correspondence, and after some "literary sleuthing," he "discovered ... language that was clearly intended to be poetry."Solomon said that it took two days of reading the emails to create and compile the poems, some of which are titled, "The Truth About The Moose," "You Are All Amazing – Except Maybe for Bruce," and "Carpe Per Diem." He turned various sentences from the trove of emails into verses, forming the humorous and sometimes absurd poems.
The title for I Hope Like Heck originated from an email regarding the proposed Gravina Island Bridge
Gravina Island Bridge
The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, with Gravina Island, an island which contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was...
, funding for which Palin hoped would be allocated by the Alaska State Legislature. The poem reads: "When asked about the Gravina Bridge / I hope like heck / Lawmakers are smart enough / To chop that out / Of the state budget / So I don't have to."
Calling Palin "Alaska's comedic bard," Solomon's introduction states: "Verse, like America, yearns to be free. Few 21st-century poets understand this better than Sarah Palin. Not since Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
first heard America singing has a writer captured the hopes and dreams of her people so effortlessly – and with so many gerund
Gerund
In linguistics* As applied to English, it refers to the usage of a verb as a noun ....
s." Subjects of the poems include moose hunting, beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s, Alaska politics, and tanning beds.