{"id":620,"date":"2024-02-01T10:53:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T16:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/?post_type=product&#038;p=620"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:59:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T17:59:29","slug":"last-window-at-the-punk-hotel","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/product\/last-window-at-the-punk-hotel","title":{"rendered":"Last Window at the Punk Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>by Rob Cook<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t#tab_container_619 {\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\tdisplay:block;\r\n\twidth:100%;\r\n\tborder:0px solid #ddd;\r\n\tmargin-bottom:30px;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .tab-content{\r\n\tpadding:20px;\r\n\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n\tmargin-top: 0px;\r\n\tbackground-color:#fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tfont-size:16px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\t\r\n\t\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n\t}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs {\r\n    border-bottom: 0px solid #ddd;\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a, #tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a:hover, #tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a:focus {\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tcursor: default;\r\n\tbackground-color: #fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a {\r\n    margin-right: 0px !important; \r\n    line-height: 1.42857143 !important;\r\n    border: 1px solid #ece8d2 !important;\r\n    border-radius: 0px 0px 0 0 !important; \r\n\tbackground-color: #fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tpadding: 15px 18px 15px 18px !important;\r\n\ttext-decoration: none !important;\r\n\tfont-size: 14px !important;\r\n\ttext-align:center !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a:focus {\r\noutline: 0px !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a:before {\r\n\tdisplay:none !important;\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a:after {\r\n\tdisplay:none !important ;\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li{\r\npadding:0px !important ;\r\nmargin:0px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a:hover , #tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a:focus {\r\n    color: #000000 !important;\r\n    background-color: #fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tborder: 1px solid #ece8d2 !important;\r\n\t\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a .fa{\r\n\r\nmargin-right:5px !important;\r\n\r\nmargin-left:5px !important;\r\n\r\n\r\n}\r\n\r\n\t\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs a{\r\n\t\t\tbackground-image: none;\r\n\t\t\tbackground-position: 0 0;\r\n\t\t\tbackground-repeat: repeat-x;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li {\r\n    float: left;\r\n    margin-bottom: -1px !important;\r\n\tmargin-right:0px !important; \r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n#tab_container_619 .tab-content{\r\noverflow:hidden !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n@media (min-width: 769px) {\r\n\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li{\r\n\t\tfloat:left !important ;\r\n\t\t\t\tmargin-right:-1px !important;\r\n\t\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs{\r\n\t\tfloat:none !important;\r\n\t\tmargin:0px !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav{\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n@media (max-width: 768px) {\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav{\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n\t.wpsm_nav-tabs li:before{\r\n\t\tdisplay:none !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t@media (max-width: 768px) {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t.wpsm_nav-tabs{\r\n\t\t\tmargin-left:0px !important;\r\n\t\t\tmargin-right:0px !important; \r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t#tab_container_619 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li{\r\n\t\t\tfloat:none !important;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t}\t\t\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"tab_container_619\" >\r\n\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"wpsm_nav wpsm_nav-tabs\" role=\"tablist\" id=\"myTab_619\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li role=\"presentation\"  class=\"active\"  onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#tabs_desc_619_1\" aria-controls=\"tabs_desc_619_1\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Overview<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li role=\"presentation\"  onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#tabs_desc_619_2\" aria-controls=\"tabs_desc_619_2\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Excerpts<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/ul>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t  <!-- Tab panes -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"tab-content\" id=\"tab-content_619\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div role=\"tabpanel\" class=\"tab-pane  in active \" id=\"tabs_desc_619_1\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left\"><em>\"Last Window in the Punk Hotel<\/em> is the most recent collection from one of America's most daring poets. It can be unnerving to read the reality Rob Cook brings to his language, especially when it gets so close to your face. If you don't flinch, or run off, however, his work brings a lot more to you than you might think of bringing to it. Reading these poems closely, looking into their eyes, you can't help but know that no matter which side of the mirror Cook appears to be on, his reflection is pretty much your own. And if it just so happens to be one you've never faced before\u2014which is most likely\u2014then, it's obvious you should have been paying closer attention.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Paul Roth, editor and publisher<em>\u00a0The Bitter Oleander<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"sm_text\"><strong>Praise for Rob Cook's Other Work:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"sm_text\" style=\"text-align: left\">\"Mr. Cook\u2019s third book, <em>Blackout Country<\/em>, is a treatise on American culture by a writer in full command of his investigative powers. The achievement of any single poem in the collection is a literary pleasure, but the virtue lies in the accumulative impact. A myriad of characters fill the pages. Through their trials we encounter the larger human landscape. The landscape of\u00a0<em>Blackout Country<\/em>. In the poem Blood Media, Mr. Cook has a conversation with one of his characters: 'I bought my own blood\/with my own money,' says the man holding the ATM door\/with his cup of change.\/\/His shirt with the words: HOLD ME I AM NOT A MASS MURDERER... The need for intimacy and the potential of violence to achieve it is one of the complicated dialogues of the book. Another re-occurring theme is the unique loneliness of modern city lives. 'Night needs only to be left alone in a room \/with a pencil and a stack of paper.\/It can type at 65 wpm.\/It can hear the phone in all its illiterate frequencies.\/ Night thinks it, too, is a person.\/Night should appear simple.\/It can smile for its co-workers, though it wants nothing.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Matthew Keuter<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"sm_text\" style=\"text-align: left\">\"The images and voice of Rob Cook have been compared to that of Cesar Vallejo. It has been noted that the 'difficulty of his poetry [Vallejo] initially hindered the international recognition it deserves.' Like Vallejo, the poetry of Rob Cook might be considered difficult and the same sort of descriptive language applied to Vallejo\u2019s work 'impressionistic, chaotic, even incomprehensible' might be applied. Vallejo and Cook share the visionary eye, the quick surprise, vulnerability and often a quizzical playful; tone that a child might delight in.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Mitchell Denning<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"sm_text\" style=\"text-align: left\">\"Lorca knew so well, people are moved by <em>duende<\/em>. And that guy, the one who knows how to meet the wind, the one you need to read, the one who understands. ..the man who wields surrealism like a wand to summon memories in surprise tastes, measures from poignant to bittersweet....sometimes just plain bitter, that man whose words makes your blood rush dark and furtive... that guy is Rob Cook. Remember his name.\u00a0<em>He\u2019ll be poet laureate of this country one day.<\/em>\u00a0Find his poems online, find his books, wrestle an angel for it, sucker punch a muse to read it. It s not a skill like harnessing, but a release, like inviting the wind in. And when the wind and the poet become one, the duende, the deep song from the center comes alive and breathes its momentary but long lasting touch upon your soul. It\u2019s an intuitive lyrical dance, the\u00a0<em>duende<\/em> comes and you get out of the way and put yourself in its way. Rob Cook has mastered the dance.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Gail Gray<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-643\" src=\"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rob-cook-headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Rob Cook\" width=\"200\" height=\"250\" \/>Rob Cook<\/strong>\u00a0lives in New York City\u2019s East Village. He is the author of six collections, including\u00a0<em>Asking my Liver for Forgiveness<\/em>\u00a0(Rain Mountain Press, 2015),\u00a0<em>Undermining of the Democratic Club<\/em>\u00a0(Spuyten Duyvil, 2014),\u00a0<em>Blueprints for a Genocide<\/em>\u00a0(Spuyten Duyvil, 2012) and\u00a0<em>Empire in the Shade of a Grass Blade\u00a0<\/em>(Bitter Oleander Press, 2013). Work has appeared in\u00a0<em>Asheville Poetry Review, Caliban, Fence, A cappella Zoo, Zoland Poetry, Tampa Review, Minnesota Review, Aufgabe, Caketrain, Many Mountains Moving, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Harvard Review, Colorado Review, Bomb<\/em>\u00a0(online),\u00a0<em>Sugar House Review, Mudfish, Pleiades, Versal, Weave, Wisconsin Review, Ur Vox, Heavy Feather Review, Phantom Drift, Osiris,<\/em>\u00a0etc.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div role=\"tabpanel\" class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs_desc_619_2\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<P><strong>Slow Death by Gunshot<\/strong><BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nWe walked the wrong way home<BR>\r\nfrom Spring Street Natural.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe direction to the wrong world.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nIt was cold, late.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nWe didn\u2019t notice<BR>\r\nthe green hat shivering by itself<BR>\r\non the sidewalk<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nor the woman behind a broken window<BR>\r\nfeeding her mouth<BR>\r\nto a child.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nA New York Knicks thug<BR>\r\ndemanded our money<BR>\r\nfrom the maw in his hooded sweatshirt.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe traffic signal screamed once<BR>\r\nand went blank.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nIt was still late in the wrong world.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nYou walked faster than I.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe streets kept getting smaller.<BR>\r\nNo people. Just the outlines of people,<BR>\r\nwhispering in the slang of terrified rats.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThere was a man held together with Christmas lights,<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nand the sound a car makes<BR>\r\nwhen it\u2019s angry.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe dogs dangling from the trees<BR>\r\ndidn\u2019t cry, though<BR>\r\nthey seemed part of our wounds.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nWe didn\u2019t turn around.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nWe didn\u2019t hear the blood<BR>\r\nwe\u2019d lost pulling itself<BR>\r\nalong the ground behind us.<\/P>\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n <script>\r\n\t\tjQuery(function () {\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('#myTab_619 a:first').tab('show')\r\n\t\t});\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(function(){\r\n\t\t\tvar b=\"fadeIn\";\r\n\t\t\tvar c;\r\n\t\t\tvar a;\r\n\t\t\td(jQuery(\"#myTab_619 a\"),jQuery(\"#tab-content_619\"));function d(e,f,g){\r\n\t\t\t\te.click(function(i){\r\n\t\t\t\t\ti.preventDefault();\r\n\t\t\t\t\tjQuery(this).tab(\"show\");\r\n\t\t\t\t\tvar h=jQuery(this).data(\"easein\");\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif(c){c.removeClass(a);}\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif(h){f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+h);a=h;}\r\n\t\t\t\t\telse{if(g){f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+g);a=g;}else{f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+b);a=b;}}c=f.find(\"div.active\");\r\n\t\t\t\t});\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t});\r\n\t\t\r\n\r\n\t\tfunction do_resize(){\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar width=jQuery( '.tab-content .tab-pane iframe' ).width();\r\n\t\t\tvar height=jQuery( '.tab-content .tab-pane iframe' ).height();\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar toggleSize = true;\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('iframe').animate({\r\n\t\t\t    width: toggleSize ? width : 640,\r\n\t\t\t    height: toggleSize ? height : 360\r\n\t\t\t  }, 250);\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  toggleSize = !toggleSize;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\r\n\r\n\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by\u00a0Rob Cook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":846,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[28],"product_tag":[44],"class_list":{"0":"post-620","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-poetry","7":"product_tag-rob-cook","9":"first","10":"instock","11":"shipping-taxable","12":"purchasable","13":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}