A Daily Glance
Jim Behrle's She's My Best Friend pulls all the punches for humor, including collaging borrowed lines, commenting on pop imagery (like movie stars), and playing off of other poet's titles ("Self-Convex Oath on A Tennis Court"). Really, the book might be subtitled "the work of the horny poet." I don't mean that in a negative way. That makes for a humorous topic at time. In fact, Behrle's work reminds me a little of Cecco Angiolieri's. Cecco's work provided a commentary on the stilnovisti (Dante, Cavalcanti, Guinizzelli, etc. . .). Cecco was well-educated and knew the poetic forms of the serious poets, but he used humor to comment on their works. Behrle is doing something similar, i.e. commenting on the grandiose nature of some contemporary poetry by using humor. He doesn't stop to tell us that, but then again Cecco does not stop either. Ultimately, it makes Behrle's poetry a fun and quick read.
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