Daily Glance--Tony Trigilio

Tony Trigilio’s White Noise is based on a process that involved using Don Delillo’s White Noise, Google, and Usenet postings.  Trigilio explains the intricacies of the process in an end note, and while the process is interesting, the result seems to have little to do with Delillo’s White Noise.  Still, the poems are interesting and varied.  Perhaps the thing that stands out the most is the number of voices present, both contemporary and historical.  In fact, we even get a series of multi-voiced poems with characters names (He, she, grandmother, etc. . . ).  Numerous topics are also introduced from space elevators to the Gestapo.  

Living under the Gestapo now.  Always looking over your shoulder--
do I look straight enough?

It is here that we see a curious combination of well developed
democratic procedure and fear of democracy.

I truly believed that it was all over--that the threat was neutralized
and we were finally free. 

A poem like this is rich with its connections: the Gestapo and democracy, now versus a historical now, freedom versus assumed freedom. In other words, the poems in this book shoot the reader off into fascinating directions.  Trigilio does not seem to be offering answers as much as using poetry to open our worldviews. 

Comments

Popular Posts