i've read through a string of good books lately: matt brigg's shoot the buffalo, alex shakar's the savage girl, kathy acker's empire of the senseless, chris glomski's transparencies lifted from noon, and garin cycholl's blue mound to 161.

i was a little slow in getting around to alex shakar's the savage girl since it came out years ago, but it was a good read. it has nicely drawn characters and an interesting plot--one that contains a sharp critique of capitalism. i'm still sorting out my interpretation, but it gave me a lot to ponder.

i was even slower getting around to kathy acker's empire of the senseless. shakar's book made me ponder the nature of capitalism and how i am being manipulated along with everyone else as a consumer. acker's book just scares me. reading through it reminds me how close we are to our primal desires and how we repress them. it also seems especially frightening in our contemporary terrorist state (our own and others towards us).

matt brigg's shoot the buffalo was another matter entirely. i couldn't put it down. when i read through it, i recognized characters out of my own life. the book deals with how we process our own and others' acts of neglect/violence. sad work, but fascinating.

both chris glomski's transparencies lifted from noon and garin cycholl's blue mound to 161are excellent books of poetry. along with many others, i've been waiting for garin cycholl's book because i knew that it would be one of the best books out. (it won pavement saw's transcontinental poetry award.) this book is lyrical, regional, and historical, and it's utterly american--american in that sense in which olson or williams creates an american work. it's definetly worth a read for anyone interested in contemporary american poetry. chris glomski is a very different poet than garin cycholl, and his work relies much on his ear and grasp of images--luckily, he is good with both. the images, sounds, and quick changes of ideas makes glomski's work a compelling read. i must admit, having both of these poets in chicago makes me think we're still in the midst of some movement here. (i say that thinking about other writers in the city like mark tardi, john tipton, peter o'leary, ray bianchi, kerry sonnenburg, larry sawyer, and many others)

Comments

Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by the author.
sexy said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Popular Posts