American Poetry – Page 18

Essential Provocations

A few years ago, I had the privilege of reviewing Richard Martin’s poetry book, Techniques in the Neighborhood of Sleep (2016), for ABR. I thought that was a daunting task, until I took ownership of a copy of his latest opus, Goosebumps of Antimatter, a compilation of his writing in various genres. These include heteronyms that serve as his aliases (Duck Martian, Ant McGoogle, Al Pants and Dik Tater), poems, stories, interviews, and general ruminations, as well as sections devoted to visual artists Thomas Haines and James De Crescentis, two very different painters whose divergent styles complement Martin’s diverse writing quite nicely. It is a testament to both Martin and his publisher, Tod Thilleman of Spuyten Duyvil Press, for having the insight and magnanimity to undertake such an endeavor and to reference and include other artists they respect. As anyone familiar with a small press will understand, it is no small burden to reproduce artwork in color while keeping a constant eye on the bottom line. In addition, Martin’s tome is extensive at nearly six hundred pages, is divided into three books, and includes reader’s notes and appendices that offer further elucidation of the materials, a testament to Martin’s vast range of research and knowledge in bringing this work to fruition. While the scope and ambition of the book might put some readers off, they will be doing themselves a disservice if they miss this important work.

Book I, “Invent Purpose,” delivers a mix of Martin’s verse and prose. From the sharp, divergent imagery of “Fluke of Insolvency,” a poem that contrasts the meaning of capitalist greed against intrinsic value, to the profound, penetrating, gritty yet hilarious prose of “Page Four,” we are at once entertained and educated. Book 2 continues his ruminations under the title “Heteronym Interruptus,” whereby his aliases take even greater liberties with their views on a variety of subjects in Martin’s inimitable and hilarious style. “Pipeline Interviews” in Book 3 gives us further insights into Martin’s background and literary impetus as he interacts in question and answer formats, reminiscences, and digressions with other poets and artists. Those interactions not only shed light on Martin’s work, thoughts, and inspirations, but they highlight the importance of working with other artists in a community that feeds our own ideas and replenishes the pool of creativity.

At once retrospective and foreshadowing, Martin offers us a crystal ball of affirmations and warnings based on a lifetime of experience that are often predictive in discerning the current state of human affairs and their potential future repercussions. This is no more blatantly clear than in “Profit Sonnet,” the singular, repetitious line that repeats and comprises the entire poem, “They’re laughing it up in the boardroom.” Martin’s continuous, nuanced humor underscores every weighty and critical issue, not only from current events but of the human condition. From the very first sentence of his introduction the reader is forewarned that this is no ordinary reading experience. Tongue in cheek, and an expert hand on the keyboard, Martin does not so much invite us as to challenge us to continue exploring the outpourings of one of the most original, contemporary minds writing today. How often does one get to laugh out loud almost continuously while reading really good literature? It’s like stand up for the thoughtful and discerning mind. Through his humor, he ponders what writers go through to sustain their sanity when trying to develop a readership, get published, and often speak unwelcome truths. He employs a vast variety of genres, allowing both form and substance to unify and underscore his points.

There are moments of inspiration in hilarious stories of youthful drunken escapades, drug-induced hallucinatory experiences, and even being hit upon the head by acorns that produce illuminating epiphanies. In these moments of serendipitous enlightenment, he states he is “free of gravity.” This also describes Martin’s writing. There’s no sense that his work is encumbered by traditional structures or prescribed modes of thought. His intelligent…

(This partial review by Karen Corinne Herceg has been reblogged 9.16.19 from Project Muse:
Originally Published in
American Book Review)

Citation: Herceg, Karen Corinne. “Essential Provocations.” American Book Review, vol. 40 no. 4, 2019, pp. 18-19. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/abr.2019.0060

Words as Art in the Absence of Reason

A Review by: Phyllis Wilson Moore

In a rather Kafkaesque collection entitled The Sleep of Reason: A Collection of Poems by Edwina Pendarvis, P. J. Laska, and Peter Kidd, three seasoned activists, steeped in art, philosophy, history, and literature, provide an incisive glimpse at the state of the world and the political brouhaha and chaos we inflict upon ourselves.

The collection’s cover art, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monstrosities, by Francisco Goya, published in 1799, sets the stage for the words and images in the three sections of the chapbook. The title and the art serve to remind readers to consider world history.

Why Goya? Goya lived and painted during the last years of the Spanish Inquisition, a tumultuous period of war and corruption. He attempted to show the horrors of the day through art. Goya was labeled demented by Adolf Hitler.

Pendarvis builds on the Goya image by opening the chapbook with “Green Dreams”, a poem harking back to the Inquisition and the screams of martyrs, bloodied and broken on the rack, all in the name of religion.

Throughout, Pendarvis uses images of fire, bones, blood, cruelty, war, martyrdom, religiosity, and pollution, setting poems in the past and present. Her short poem, “Creche”, reminds readers of the January 17,1991, bombing of Baghdad. Aptly, Pendarvis compares the lighted sky above the city to a Christmas tree and the resulting death and destruction as the “gift” given the children of Baghdad.

She brings the sleep of reason closer home in “Farmer Brown Ascends the Gallows” as she reminds us of our nation’s history of slavery, the hanging of John Brown in Harpers Ferry, (now) West Virginia, and the subsequent Civil War. She calls Brown a planter of seeds and tells us his plants blossomed fire. The reason he was hanged? Treason. Many consider him a hero and martyr.

Pendarvis’s eight poems are followed by seven from P. J. Laska His first,“The Fall of America,” is a tribute to the work of the late poet Allen Ginsberg and Ginsberg’s collection, The Fall of America: Poems of these States 1965-1971, which shared the National Book Award for 1973. Like Ginsberg, Laska rails against the obvious destruction and contamination of the environment. He bemoans mountaintop removal in his native West Virginia, the waste clogged oceans, the struggling small towns.

He follows “The Fall of America” with a list poem,“The Greats”, a strong indictment of those using power for personal gain. Laska’s list includes “greats” readers will recognize from the daily news. Some of the greats may even produce a wry smile, perhaps “The Great Tweet” and the “Not-So-Great Offspring”. If reason sleeps, what is deemed great?

In his poem “Imagine Klee” Laska looks at Nazi Germany and Hitler’s confiscation and display of the paintings of artist he personally deemed mentally deficient or mentally ill. The crazed Hitler’s list included Klee, Picasso, and many others. Laska does not name Goya, but his work was included.

Peter Kidd’s section opens with the poem “2035”, a time when all water must be purified and the world we know no longer exists: shore lines are eroded, the climate is fierce, plants and trees are sparse. It reads like scary science fiction.

In his poems, Kidd details the impact of civilization’s “progress” and cites such particulars as the harm to dolphins off the coast of Hong Kong, the deforestation of the land, climate change, and the pollution of the ocean. He imagines the world his grandchildren will inherit.

Kidd adds some humor with “Autumn Afternoon Reflections”. He reflects on aloneness and aging: …”and now here I am/family grown and left/the dog has died/my mojo circle has shrunk/to my living room.” Despite the shrinking of his circle, his oneness with nature is illustrated in amusing conceits: damsel flies land on me/ the deer wink as they eat my grapes/ and the skunk waddles into my woodshed when I open the door.”

Kidd closes the collection with “Faults Shifted”, a poem with an optimistic core. His message: reason can be awakened and concepts can “get flipped” when reason is evoked.

The SLEEP OF REASON is word-art by three master poets. I feel sure Hitler would label them demented. I encourage you to consider their words.

The Sleep of Reason: A Collection of Poems by Edwina Pendarvis, P. J. Laska, and Peter Kidd, Igneus Press, 2019, $5

Tag: American Poetry

Goosebumps of Antimatter, by Richard Martin: Review by Karen Corinne Herceg

Essential Provocations

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THE SLEEP OF REASON, A COLLECTION OF POEMS Edwina Pendarvis, P. J. Laska, Peter Kidd: Review by Phyllis Wilson Moore

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Essential Provocations

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