Book Reviews  by Ralph Haselmann Jr.
Lucid Moon Poetry Magazine Issue #36 (August 1999)

The Berkshire Polish Bar And Other Blue Collar Poems Poetry chapbook by Ed Chaberek. 16 pages, $4 check made out to Doug Holder, 33 Ibbetson St., Somerville, MA 02143. Overpriced at $4, with only 16 pages and only 7 poems, this is an otherwise good collection of poetry about the Polish neighborhood in Berkshire. With illustrations and photos by Richard Wilhelm, this is a nicely produced 8 1/2 by 11 size chapbook which unfortunately suffers from it's brevity. Best are the final two poems, Looking Back On What The Neighbors Said and Mario & Lillian--1960 for their evocation of an old world time and place. Poet Ed Cheberek writes well, with deft phrases and colorful descriptions and observations, but the chapbook could have used more poems to round it out.

Broken Glass Poetry chapbook by Joseph Verrilli. 40 pages, $4 check made out to Joe Verrilli, 115 Washington Ave/GH, Bridgeport, CT 06604-3805. A touching tribute to Joe's late wife Janet, who died this summer from kidney failure. These heartfelt poems were written between 1990-1995 and show how much Joe cared for his ailing wife during her long illness. The title poem reads "Images remain stark yet sad as a pool of tears haunting reverie in an unsettled reality. The way she walks, almost pathetic; bad posture, fragile facade hides her inner strength. Pain of a lifetime reflected in an statement of tenderness; the fawn that cannot run fast enough from the hunter. I give her shelter...and sweep away the broken glass." A tribute to Janet, including poems by Joe from this chapbook, was included in the July Lucid Moon issue #35. I hope Joe's heart heals in time. As poet George MacDonald said: "Death alone from death can save. Love is death, and so is brave. Love can fill the deepest grave. Love loves on beneath the wave." A fine collection of tender love poems, with clip art drawings that accompany each poem. Recommended.

Clouds Look Different At Night Poetry chapbook by Gary Jurechka. 42 pages, $5 check made out to Gary Jurechka, 119 S. College Ave., Dixon, Illinois 61021. Terrific poems here, from a master of the form. Gary Jurechka reaches new heights familiar to readers of his previous work. lovepoem reads: "If I should never again see another glorious sunrise, or sail on the exhilaration of a storm, or never stand under the infinite black sky full of a million gleaming gems of starlight, if i should breathe my last sweet breath of air and breathe no more, it would matter not, for I have held you in my arms." Milk & Honey reads: "lucid eyes dream gaze breathe sugar musk of love and lust sensuous souls mesh passion burns into ecstacy moist hair fire flesh kiss tongues dance nipples tingle." For a change of pace with some humour, Midnight At The Heaven Bar & Grill reads: "Peering down through cloud wisps, God, sitting on a stool next to St. Peter, nudges him in the wing and with a smiling wink, shouts over blaring harp music from the jukebox, "Ain't it funny how the earth always looks better at closing time?"" Gary Jurechka is one of my favorite poets, and he shines a sweet bright light on the poetry world here.

Gemini Rising Poetry chapbook by Brad Kammer. 52 pages, $3 check made out to Brad Kammer, 3315 Somerset Drive, Beachwood, OH 44122. A crisp, clean, beautifully produced chapbook that is easily worth twice as much, with a Vellum cover page. This is a terrific chapbook, with well-crafted poems bursting with exuberance and shimmering detail, about summer love and lost youth and dreams and life. Milk & Honey reads: "Because I am able to transcend and climb to the next rung on this ladder I can offer to you the view from what I see the horizon--as is milk & honey and the garden of eden with sirens and song and lovers, the wind the full moon the airy starry sky the fire's blaze ghosts, angels and fairies the zenith--hands and faces touch and smile as is milk & honey and in the garden of eden as is ecstacy and love as is love and lust as is friendship...but because I am able to wrap my legs and hands along another rung in this ladder I have the fear of flight, and of falling the wanderer, the drifter, the prophet, and me...and me, and me, and you (falling)". Subtle, magical remembrances of youth and days to come abound in this collection. Magic, With A Mind Of Its Own reads: "Lost in the wishing well is my youth drowned beneath those ripples bubbling on the surface reflecting something so remotely resembling my soul. I threw thousands of pennies down this well in my youth wishing for such things as love and wisdom and happiness when the ripples danced shimmering in the light which bounced down into the depths of this well I knew something would come true...I just did not know that wishing wells read minds." Beautiful, just beautiful poetry, this is the best poetry book I have read in a while. Please buy a copy from Brad and send him $5 instead of $3, you'll love it!

Ibbetson St. Press Issue #2 Poetry magazine. 32 pages, $4 check made out to Doug Holder, 33 Ibbetson St., Somerville, MA 02143. A bit thin at 32 pages, this is a wonderful collection of well-crafted poetry, prudently edited by Doug Holder, Dianne Robitaille and Richard Wilhelm, with fine drawings by Wilhelm. Some poems that stood out were On Turning Thirty-Five by Sue Sullivan, The Day Allen Ginsberg Died by B.Z. Niditch and In A Letter To Ann by Ken Pobo, which reads: "In a letter to Ann Landers, some guy gushed about being in love, how his heart beat faster. It was all something. Ann got giddy about his joy, and why not, or come off sounding like she's against Juicy Fruit gum. But for all his sugar, he didn't mention long sleepless nights, painful motions to and away from each other, a small boat on a lake when a storm blows up." Ibbetson St. Press has gotten some local press in Massachusetts and is being sold in bookstores there. A fine collection, one hopes it will increase in size in time and include more great poetry from new voices.

Junkyard Poetry chapbook by Mark Spitzer with color photos by Robert Butler. 12 pages, $4 check made out to Robert Butler, 58 Buick Press, 10014 Greenwood Ave. N, Suite 301, Seattle, Washington 98133. Beautifully produced small chapbook with color photos of classic cars lying in junkyards and travelogue odes to states that have junkyards, on thick stock textured paper. The preface states: "We decided we'd do it--not just talk about it: cruise across the American West, taking pictures of junkyards. That was the idea. Rob would take his pictures and I'd take mine. So he picked me up i Colorado and we lit out. West. To hit as many junkyards as we could find. Between Denver and Seattle in the deserts and the mountains and the forests and the fields. To see the wrecks of the West: the tailfins and grillwork and V*s and more. There were coyotes and cacti and eagles and bones. Erosion. Humans. Words we kept then threw away. Pictures abandoned. This, however, is what we saved." Colorado reads: "Great Plains. Front Range. Shredded vinyl sunburnt thistle beached behemoths bleached by the sun. Abandoned wagons, old schoolbuses sheep graze between El Caminos . Beat LeBaron, busted Bronco, amputated ambulance kills of the junkyard dog. Trunklids open to the sky deer-flies hot August sun. Canyons, creekbeds Supers, Specials tranny field cattail bog. Speedway, Eerie, Dacona random coil, aspen grove, Darts, Scamps, tanks vats. A Valiant armored plants. Rocky Mountains ridging distance. Totalled tore-up Toronado champagne-faded Pontiac. Burnt-out blowed-out trailer home: clothes exposed flapping above an old black bull lazing in the daisies one pink toilet up above."

Rugged poetic descriptions and beautiful photography make this a must-read visual treat. Very well done.

Lummox Journal (July 1999 and August 1999) Poetry newsletter (small magazine). $2 per issue, $20 per year (12 issues plus poetry special), check made out to Lummox, P.O. Box 5301, San Pedro, CA 90733-5301. A highly entertaining poetry journal that is well worth the $20 per year. Photocopied b&w, small chapbook size with small print and 16-24 pages per issue. The July 1999 issue features an interview with A.D. Winans and some poetry by Winans and others and a couple of drawings (including one by fellow Lucid Moon contributor Claudio Parentela). August 1999 issue is a tribute to Charles Bukowski, who would have been 79 this August 16. Features short remembrances by A.D. Winans, Jack Saunders, Scott Wannberg and others, poetry by fellow Lucid Moon contributor Ed Galing and others, and book reviews of Gerald Locklin's big new book on Bukowski and other books. True Romance (For Jane and Hank) by Rene Diedrich reads: "Each time you made it with her, you did so with the same reluctant love you have for revision. Sure. There were others, but no one like her. The way she moved beside you in the morning, murmuring, "Take care of me; brush my hair." You did your best, which is all anyone can. It wasn't enough. It never is. And she died, but she never left you happily ever after." A treat to read, this little journal is well worth looking into.

Psychedelic Steppenwolves: The Spoken Word of Dave Rubin (Featuring the voices of The Drifters' Charlie Thomas and Elsbeary Hobbs and the music of A Thousand Tiny Fingers). Poetry cd with avante garde jazz music accompaniment. 42 minutes, $16 check postpaid made out to Hands On Studio, Mad Mike 470 Kipp St., Teaneck, NJ 07666-2304. e-mail http://www.madmike@Carroll.com A terrific spoken word poetry cd with jazz music accompaniment, this collection is everything a spoken word poetry cd should be: Crisp production, great readings in a variety of voices, great music, lyrics included, and what lyrics! They take you on a sidetrip through the back streets of New York City, the cafes, bookstores, smokey bars and downtown Harlem juke joints. Gritty, urban and real, the words evoke an edgy vision of NYC, the city that never sleeps. Innovator's Stomp sings with a dizzying sax solo. The Blues Kid describes what the real Blues is. Night Music reads: "A human drum echoing in the night, a few simple questions in a predictable rhythm Who am I? Where is she? Why am I doing this to myself? A human drum. The skin has no answers." In The Bookstore has the cleverest lines: "In the bookstore I saw Shakespeare crucified on the shelf of Feminist Deconstruction I saw Freud in a torn dust jacket in a cold sweat, discarded on the forty nine cent outdoor carts... I saw Einstein surrounded by Mayan astronomers dancing on temple walls...I saw dictionaries of disappeared languages crying out to encyclopedias of lost gods...I inhaled the profound intoxications of the ghosts of the sacred written word disappearing like paradigms at closing time, shopping bags stuffed with immortal delusions, keys to the cultural grammar of eternity, on remainder. Cheap." I have not read such great sheer poetry since I read Allen Ginsberg's Howl. This cd is better than any poetry reading I have ever attended. Anyone who is serious about poetry will want a copy of this cd for his collection. I can't recommend Psychedelic Steppenwolves enough!

The Real World Is Full Of Tiny Orange Panties Poetry chapbook by Colin Cross. 20 pages, $3 international Money order made out to Colin Cross, Backstreet Press, 37 Wellington Green, St. Benedicts, Norwich NR2 1HG, England. Colin Cross writes whimsical, lighthearted verse about relationships, sex, drinking in pubs with buddies and summer days gone by. He has a flair for making comments on everyday situations and often has a kicker for an ending. Dancing Queens reads: "It was karoke night in this bar I know we'd had a few drinks but how we ended up there I don't know. The dancing queens were there in force in their sixties with blonde perms too much makeup and clingy black outfits leaping about in wild abandonment knocking drinks everywhere. They knocked my friend's drink right out of his hands before we'd even started drinking it so i put mine on a table well out of the way. The music was too loud the singing terrible and the place too crowded. It was a nightmare and I wanted to wake up the only trouble being I wasn't asleep." The title poem describes how as a teenager the main character would slip his hand in his girlfriend's orange panties and they slept late at a train station and got home late: "...when we got home the next morning her mother banned me from seeing her and sent her away to an aunt in Wales for the remainder of her school holiday. On her return I told her to choose between her mother and me and being only fifteen she chose her mother. Not too long ago I heard that her mother had died. I don't suppose she'd come back to me now though not after all these years and besides the tiny orange panties are probably too small." Chock full of humorous and wistful pieces, this is a good read. The poems read more like short stories and the print is too tiny, but worth a look.

Remembering Bukowski and Scar Tissue Poetry mini-chapbooks by A.D. Winans. 48 pages each, $5 each, check made out to either A.D. Winans at P.O. Box 31249, San Francisco, CA 94131 or Lummox Press, P.O. Box 5301 San Pedro, CA 90733-5301. Both are part of the charming Little Red Books Series by Lummox Press, and both are a treat to read all around. Remembering Bukowski recalls the twenty year friendship that A.D. had with Bukowski starting in 1972. The poems relate the seedy side of town that Bukowski frequented, the bars and racetracks and the poetry readings where he puked his guts out. The poems are laid out the way Buk wrote his poems, in tall skinny columns, but A.D.'s words are somehow kinder and more wistful, he could never be as hard-boiled as Hank. The final touching poem is a tribute to Buk, simply titled For Hank: "I tried to picture him battling leukemia but still managing just twenty days before his death to send a poem to Wormwood Review filled with life to the end Perhaps a wry smile on his face for the doctor and a hand on the ass of the nurse playing out the game to the end like only the old man was capable of doing." In the second Little Red Book, Scar Tissue, A.D. opens up to reveal an intimate portrait of his childhood, his parents and their deaths. Childhood Memories reads: "When I was a child I used to sit and watch my mother knit from patterns bought at the local five-and-dime store. We would gather in the living room with the radio for company in days before tv listening to The Green Hornet watching her work at a quilt Her fingers moving in perfect stitched time each color a rainbow hue of love." Saying Goodbye reads: "Death travels a lonely road creeping up on you like a mugger a black crow poised in its nest waiting for the human soul to be laid to rest Neither words nor stones detract it from its mission. I see you laid out for veiwing given over to the undertaker's art the family rarely together paying their last respects Lady death casting her net across a river of invisible tears." A.D. writes memorable poetry and makes it universal to everyone's life experience. These are poems to treasure and visit again and again like meeting an old friend.

Some Parts Of Hands That Work Made Numb, Tingle As The Myth Of Life Is Attempted By Flies Poetry chapbook by Dean Wells. 24 pages, $3 check made out to Dean Wells, Box 208, Lyndonville, VT 05851. The title is kind of cumbersome, hard to understand and not smooth to read, as are some of the poems in this beguiling collection. Still, the vibrant images linger and make an impression, as in the poem Wednesday Evening W/Haiku Even: "A prayer from my bone of joy that I rest so today in honor of coming wonders but it looks like one more day gotten through rather than away with. Blessed as it were with a simple malady of the spirit my biggest physical problem the failure to move correctly throughout big 'W"orld in the stomach less existential ev'ry day a hollow feeling having more to do with failed digestion and a body less forgiving it's abuser than a soul of blank horror cosmic awares all this while E. runs her puckering fingers along leg stubble grades her love and decides not to shave." An intriguing collection of muses on love and everyday happenings, these poems make you work hard to conceptualize their sentiments. Interesting hand-made effort.

Please send all poetry books, chapbooks, cds, cassettes, broadsides and manuscripts for review to Ralph Haselmann Jr., Lucid Moon Press, 67 Norma Road, Hampton, NJ 08827. Please remember to include price including postage, who to make checks out to and address (where to order from). Include a s.a.s.e. so I can tell you which issue it will be reviewed in.