From Verboten (Page 17)Each poem in this collection tells a story, reflects on a bright memory, and picks these events apart to reveal the truth beneath. There are times in this volume when the narrator is sure of his path and at other times ideas run contrary to one another. Some of my favorite lines will leave readers squirming or gritting their teeth.
"They are drinking wine and speaking
of French-U.S. relations when the long
sleeve on her arm falls down. Before
she can clutch it, I see the faded blue
tattoo on her flesh. "What are those
numbers?" I ask. A silence explodes
through the room like spores."
From Walking Unsure of Myself (Page 65)Readers will enjoy the music of these poems and how these poems pop off the pages, with an in your face quality. Subtlety is not a prevalent style in Amen's work, but readers will appreciate his frankness. From poems where the narrator takes an active role to poems to observances from a distance, Amen draws the reader in with immediate and concrete details. One of the best collections I've read in 2009.
"The fortune teller is battling a migraine.
Wind has swallowed my itinerary.
A man in blue goggles is on his knees outside the bank.
The rape victim is scrubbing herself with a steel brush."
New York Memory #3 (Page 36)I want to thank John Amen for sending me a free copy of his book More of Me Disappears for review. For additional examples from this book, visit John Amen's Web site.
"When I get to my dead father's apartment,
Liz emerges from ruptured planks and exploded plaster.
She is covered with soot, like some pagan baptized
in refuse. The wrecking crew has come before
we had a chance to vacate the place, stripped the loft
to its skeleton. My father's furniture has been destroyed,
a lifetime buried beneath an avalanche of wood and iron.
Beds have been gutted, paintings raped by protruding nails.
A fast-food cup rises from the ruin like a conqueror's flag.
The apartment is quickly remodeled, rent raised;
the revolving door of humanity spins. Over the years,
I make a point of knowing who is living there. I see tenants
come and go. I accept that we're not so unlike animals.
I mean, I have this friend who tells me all about bees,
how the queen is revered and protected, ultimately
replaced in a savage deposition, how the mad
hive continues, greater than any one member.
And everything he says sounds familiar, and stings."
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This is my 6th book for the poetry review challenge.
28 comments:
This sounds right up my alley! As for poetry I've read lately...well, I liked some of the poems you read aloud during the Read-a-Thon, and before that I flipped through my well-worn collection of Dickinson poems.
Adding this to my sidebar...
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
Interesting. Thanks for this review. I have had only one review of a poetry collection and I blogged it. I also read and write Haiku. My last poetry reading was a collection of haiku by Matsuo Basho.
Enjoy...
Anna: I'm glad you think this volume is for you. I can't wait to read the other book of Amen's that I have.
Nana: I just subscribed to both of your blogs and can't wait to read more from your reviews. I hope you are entering this giveaway. Its a great chance to read more poetry.
There are some surprising and apropos images in the poems you've excerpted. Very cool.
No need to enter me, darling. I'm dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I've got this posted at Win a Book for you.
Sounds really nice...
Please enter me in the contest. Thanks.
By the way, recently I've (re)read Shakespeare's Sonnets.
avalonne83 [at] yahoo [dot] it
I have enjoyed Lord Byron, Keats and Shakespeare, we have discussed those in school.
milkavainamo(at)lyseo(dot)edu(dot)ouka(dot)fi
Poetry... Recently I've been reading Poe and Shakespeare... again. Everytime I read it, I find something I didn't notice before and I love that.
carianmoonlight(at)gmail(dot)com
I enjoy reading Chinese poems. Almost all the end words rhyme, in a meaningful way.
aikychien at yahoo dot com
I tweeted.
http://twitter.com/aikchien/status/5392538397
aikychien at yahoo dot com
John was kind enough to send me At The Threshold of Alchemy. I am savouring that slowly. I would like to read this too.
Do count me in!
gautami.tripathy[at]gmail.com
I'm just venturing into poetry and I think I would love to have this.
I've been re-reading Leaves of Grass and loving every word!
carlos_durao@hotmail.com
"alone in Japan" appears in I thought Elvis was italian by Domenico Capilongo and was my favourite in his debut collection.
You can read the title poem here.
wanda_waiting[@]hotmail[.]com
Sorry I didn't catch this giveaway earlier but I now have this in my Up For Grabs post.
I've been reading two polish poets:
Czeslaw Milosz and Wislawa Szymborska.
They are amazing!
educhico AT gmail DOT com
I always have some Pablo Neruda on my bedside table.
jafantunes [at] sapo [dot] pt
Fernando Pessoa.
He is a portuguese genius!
o_rei_de_havana AT hotmail DOT com
It was a gift, a compilation of works by Rainer Maria Rilke.
And it is amazing!
dr.strangelove.vs.citizen.kane
@
gmail.com
Only recently did I discover that was mainly a poet and not a fiction author as I knew him to be.
So i bought The Cinnamon Peeler, which is a selection of his works and I am loving every word!
catarina(dot)magoito(at)gmail(dot)com
I am fascinated by the Haikus of Kobayashi Issa.
My email is 39.5susy AT gmail.com
I am only an occasional reader of poetry, but Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal really surprised me!
Oh, and my email:
goncalo(dot)mil(at)gmail(dot)com
joanapatriciadias AT gmail DOT com
I have been reading several Persian poems, all dedicated to love, and I am thrilled with them!
I was most surprised by "Twenty Poems of Anna Akhmatova".
I did not know of her work, but she is truly a genius!
tanitalves {@} sapo {.} pt
I really enjoyed a recent discovery of some more current Billy Collin poems!
dreamzz12{at}aol{dot}com
I really enjoyed a recent discovery of some more current Billy Collin poems!
dreamzz12{at}aol{dot}com
tweeted
dreamzz12{at}aol{dot}com
http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/5499002654
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