Return to the City of White Donkeys

Return to the City of White Donkeys is James Tate's collection of prose poems published in 2004. The book contains over 150 poems that connect through recurring characters, locations, and surreal situations. The poems take place in an unnamed American town where ordinary people encounter bizarre circumstances and inexplicable events. Characters attempt to navigate through peculiar scenarios involving government bureaucracy, mysterious visitors, strange animals, and confounding social interactions. The stories exist in a space between realism and absurdism, with straightforward narration that leads to unexpected turns. Tate employs a matter-of-fact tone to describe increasingly improbable situations, maintaining the semblance of logic within illogical frameworks. The collection explores themes of alienation and connection in modern society, using humor and surrealism to examine how people cope with incomprehensible systems and maintain their humanity in the face of absurdity.

Readers praise Tate's surreal humor and ability to find absurdity in everyday situations. Many note his poems read like short stories or prose pieces, making them accessible to those who don't typically read poetry. Multiple reviewers mention the poems create dream-like scenarios that start normally before taking unexpected turns. Common criticisms include the poems becoming repetitive in style and lacking emotional depth. Some readers find the constant surrealism grows tiresome by the end of the collection. A few reviews mention the humor occasionally feels forced. Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (267 ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (12 ratings) Sample reader comments: "Like overhearing snippets of bizarre conversations" - Goodreads reviewer "Each poem is its own tiny world of weirdness" - Amazon reviewer "The jokes wear thin after a while" - Goodreads reviewer "Perfect blend of ordinary and strange" - LibraryThing reviewer

The World Doesn't End by Charles Simic The prose poems merge everyday scenes with surreal elements to create dreamlike narratives that blur reality.

Selected Poems by Russell Edson The poems employ absurdist scenarios and dark humor to explore human nature through prose poetry.

The Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano Short vignettes combine folklore, memory, and imagination to create a tapestry of interconnected stories.

My Life by Lyn Hejinian The autobiographical prose poems construct meaning through fragmented memories and observations of daily life.

Morning in the Burned House by Margaret Atwood The poems navigate between mundane moments and mythological references while maintaining a narrative thread.

🎭 James Tate wrote most of these surreal, prose-like poems while battling serious health issues, adding a layer of poignant reflection beneath their often humorous surfaces. 📚 The collection's title references Tate's earlier work "The City of White Donkeys," creating a circular narrative that spans multiple books in his career. 🏆 The book was published in 2004, near the end of Tate's life, after he had already won major awards including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. 🎨 Many poems in the collection feature absurdist scenarios in small-town settings, blending everyday American life with elements of magical realism. ✍️ The book's prose poem format challenged traditional poetry conventions, influencing a generation of younger poets who adopted similar techniques in their work.