Currently reading and reviewing the latest collection of poems from Jack Gilbert.

08/01/11

Review of “Tao-Zen” Verses, by Hanakia Zedek
Whistling Shade Press, 2010

http://www.amazon.com/Tao~Zen-Verses-Hanakia-Zedek/dp/098003759X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312235188&sr=8-1

A Guide Through and With Chaos
How to describe Hankia Zedek, his philosophy, and review his first published book?  The most appropriate way would be through anecdotes, and what Hanakia’s purpose is.

Tao-Zen Verses represents the intersection of these two schools of thought and how to turn an existence inside out, keep what works and is useful, and discard the useless objects and weight.  From here you may define and craft the life you desire.  The depths of self are searched for within every dark, dusty corner, pushing aside the cobwebs of the landscape and the mind.

He will show you many tools and examples of how to use them, however, the construction of your new existence (or the return to a previous self), and the decision to fully embrace this, is up to you.  There is no right or wrong answer to any of the questions that someone poses.  Based on the individual situation, the issues being faced and the desired direction, the tools are tailored and the true self hiding within emerges.

An important aspect of the book and the philosophy is – there is no path.  To think about life this way, creates a self-imposed limitation as soon as it is mapped and released to the world.  Instead, live chaotically and scattered.  Adapt to the environment exposed as obstacles – some beyond your control, many created by yourself – and tackle and tunnel through them.

Presented in 127 poetical verses, Hanakia mixes alliteration, rhyme, and an internal rhythm designed so each stands on their own and is digestible.  Each can be read and consumed, providing insight and a lesson.  In my reading, the verses do not need to be followed in order, but allow a randomness to take effect, and new strings created, making the journey even more personal.

Example verses:

(33)
Too many words confuse the mind
Observe the world, with your eyes closed
And Listen

(42)
If this way works for you, fine
If it does not
May it be that you find
These pages to be good kindling

(73)
When Strength is determined by Grace
War will no longer plague the human race

Even if someone is not seeking to rearrange their life and is content, these words still provide daily guidance and a checklist of sorts.  They can be used to maintain what has been built and assist in getting back on track when needed.

What can seem like a complex philosophy and an out of reach spiritual awareness on the surface is in reality creating the reality you desire.  This book provides an excellent resource for anyone, no matter the depths already explored or someone just reaching for answers and guidance.

Related resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen

Review of “Auto-Bio”, by Peter William Stein
Amber Skye Publishing, 2010

http://www.amazon.com/Auto-bio-Peter-William-Stein/dp/0981986048/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1312167377&sr=8-3

Peter’s first full-length collection of poems is ambitious with potential in its themes and delivery mechanism.  Topics such as self, life, death, and God, all attempting to point to the same conclusion – the self is lost amidst the murky landscape -  are explored while looking for direction or a heavenly sign, and an exit from this, and an entrance to what is next.

Throughout the collection, I could not help feel the poems are somewhat disjointed.  There exists scattered beautiful imagery; however they are lost amidst a sea of adjectives placed with little substance, bringing little additional value to the poem.  If some of the images were allowed room to breathe, and not become bookended with unneeded verbiage, they would provide a launching pad to more complete poems that get to the point.

The poem “Mystical Monument” begins by calling a child a “mystical monument”, however the stanzas that follow give no clue or guide as to this grandiose statement.  The poem focuses on innocence of a child, versus the mothers potentially lost or skewed outlook, but nothing more.  What makes the child mystical?  I was not able to reach my own conclusion.

Notable poem: “Rest in Peace” with the opening lines of:

The peacefulness of sleep
amazes me

She wears it
like a wedding dress

Peter experiments with form utilizing spacing, parentheses, words or combinations with multiple meanings in poems such as “Euclid’s Perfect Insight”, a unique and refreshing arrangement, and “Self-Portrayal”, where the extra spaces have become overused as a break or forced pause for the reader.

One of the books reviews mentioned the intense quest for answers that often prove elusive.  I found myself puzzled, and burdened with too many questions, and too few answers, but do look forward to the next collection that may expand on the topics, hopefully from another light or angle, while retaining the inquisitive nature of a child.

Review of “Becoming”, by D. Garcia Wahl
Whistling Shade, 2010
http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-D-Garcia-Wahl/dp/0980037581/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311559989&sr=8-2

Dylan is a unique voice in American literature and a shining example of what poetry is supposed to be. The images formed from his words and stanzas cross many boundaries and fight successfully to stand-alone atop the rocky shorelines.

What we have here are poems striking a fine balance between the intellectual and romanticism. Dylan plays with religious concepts and images without leading down any particular path or from any one sect. The longing of ages, a desire to return to a previous time when gods and goddesses walked among the poets and philosophers, each seeking love, and they shared in wine and food, provides a necessary backdrop and synopsis of the man behind these words.

Highlights:

• Baptism – Contains a beautiful lyrical flow to the lines and stanzas
• Beseech the Island, calmly – Part iii – Shows the poets place in balance between dream and words blending with the landscape:

“The poem fresh from a dream
where he was asked to explain himself
by the old woman whose mortal ashes
were scattered to these baritone waters.
The time arrives to let ink flow to paper.
The poet immortal,
Floating chained to the shoreline.”

• Plum Solace
• Philosopher Torn
• Jazz at the Dakotah – Distinct images of tactile objects and the physical representation, both on the page and in the readers mind, of music beats and the jazz players allowing you a peak behind the curtains of their world.

In life there is beauty and in life there is death. As such, in death there is beauty to be found. In these poems, both beauty and death are players in a game including the author. This love triangle scratches the surface of man’s role within nature. The landscape serves as the backdrop to the emotional play divided into ageless acts where love is the unscripted words between the audience and the actors.

We hear the overarching desire and we feel the author reaching outward and see the eyes looking at what he is able to grab and hold onto. I recommend grabbing hold of this book and letting the images grab hold of you until you can no longer resists opening your heart up just a bit.

The following is my book review of “Waiting” by Marya Hornbacher, posted on 06/09/11.

Written by someone who does not believe in God and has been through AA and the 12-steps, this book provides a working and grounded guide to spirituality. Reading this with an open mind, and not terribly concerned about the 12-steps themselves, I found Marya’s viewpoint interesting, mostly different than mine, but informative. I pulled a few helpful pieces of information related to a daily practice and how to approach each day and other people. Her approach in breaking down the steps to follow one calendar year is refreshing and provides a nice landscape as each chapter begins with more personal prose on her own journey around the country at various times.

Highly recommended for believers and nonbelievers, regardless if you are in or have been in AA.

Update 06/09/11:

After going through the notes I wrote during the first reading of this book, I realized that something was missing for me. Even though I try (key word) to live a spiritual life, something is off in the daily routine. And then I figured it out. I was not starting off each day in the right mindset. I awake, and immediately think about the stress, what is not done, what is broken, what is wrong. The day has no chance to bring any good to myself or others with these thoughts clogging my mind. From reading this book, I know intellectually and spiritually, what I need to do each morning, and my work I must complete, to carry this through the day, and prepare for the next one.

The following is my book review of “California” by Jennifer Denrow, posted on 06/09/11.

I had no expectations going into this, and have been rewarded. Her writing style is very direct, almost like poking a stick at your eye. What is most different, compared to the many poetry books out there, is her form and layout of the words on stanzas on the page. Overall a great, and fresh collection of poems.

The following is my book review of “Versed” by Rae Armantrout, posted on 06/09/11.

There are a few things to like in these poems and a few things that leave me puzzled and unable to get an accurate glimpse inside Rae’s mind, or my own for that matter. In the abstract, sparse stanzas, I was challenged to form an image and take away my own experience. I may have been looking at a painting, but the light was wavering, the image cloudy. It is not obvious at first what direction a poem has taken or what the inspiration may have been.

Divided into two sections, titled “Versed” and “Dark Matter”, this collection feels like a snapshot where random quips are thought and written down. Unlike John Haines, whose poems are nature based, with a simple form where each word has a purpose, Rae’s are about the everyday life, headlines and news flashes across the Internet. The moments that occur and the feeling that follows, almost the knee-jerk reaction, are quick, raw, and unorganized.

A few poems are direct commentaries on pop culture (Anna Nicole Smith, Iron Man) and the way social media specifically, and technology in general are consuming and taking over our lives, trading the real for the digital.

Overlaying this collection is Rae’s experience with cancer, and an attempt to seek out and bring to light the unknown and invisible, the dark matter.

Favorite stanza, from “Missing Persons”, page 89:

“A thin old man in blue jeans,
back arched, grimaces
at the freezer compartment.”

The use of punctuation, in particular periods, is interesting. Most of the poems, especially in the first section “Versed” do not end with one, even when the proceeding stanzas do. The last stanza does not. I have not figured out why, or the purpose, or even a pattern. I thought maybe is it is a convention where the previous poem ends, but as an overall flow continues with the next poem’s title or first stanza. Reading the poems consecutively with this in mind, it is not consistent enough to carry through the entire book.

Some notable poems: “Amplification”, “Heaven”, “Just”, “Dark Matter”, and “Missing Persons”, “Birth Order”.

Another interesting fragment of each piece is the title, which the majority of them a single word. Over the years I have also favored a shorter title. It gives little away to the reader and lessens the preconceived notion they may have about a poems topic or direction. In my recent poems, I have gone with numbers and/or colors, matching what Jackson Pollock decided to do in his later life and paintings.

Rae’s poems are sparse in their words, creating images not obvious at first. Each word serves as a guide, a sign-post if you will. Where I was being led, I do not know. Overall, I felt the effort was lacking and the poems suffered from oversimplification at the hands of a decision to be abstract for its own sake, and a form and writing convention that made no sense.