POEMS OF BOSTON AND JUST BEYOND: FROM THE BACK BAY TO THE BACK WARD by Doug Holder

Book Review by Laura Stamps
Lucid Moon Poetry Website Archives and Newsletter
Lucid Moon Poetry Website, www.lucidmoonpoetry.com

1998, 24 pages, paper, $2.00 (Ibbetson Street Press, 25 School Street, Somerville, MA 02143)

Doug Holder is a popular poet and a tireless promoter of the small press. He and his wife Dianne run Ibbetson Street Press, which not only publishes a growing catalog of poetry books but also a biannual poetry magazine. Holder is also the Arts Editor for the Somerville News, the East Coast Editor for Poesy Magazine, the moderator for the news group Ibbetson Update, and the host of the Newton Free Library Poetry Series. He received a M.A. in Literature from Harvard University, and has worked for over twenty years as a mental health counselor at McLean Hospital.

As the title suggests, this chapbook is divided into two parts. The poems in the first section illustrate Holder’s impressions of those living and working in the Back Bay of Boston. Let me warn you…even though this poet is a driving force in the national small press poetry world, he is also a deeply caring man with a generous sense of humor. His humor in this first section is best expressed in the poem DADDY IS HE A MONSTER?: “A child caught sight of me on a bus / propped up on his seat / safe within his father’s fold / he said, / “Is he a monster?” // My head / poking out of its protective shell of newspaper / a suspicious crab / peering at a threatening predator / my blood shot eyes squinting / behind a shield of dark glass. / The top of my head / void of hair / shining under an aura of artificial light / from the vehicle. / An unruly beard / sprouted / tinted with gray / from my flushed cheeks. // I forced a smile / the child screamed / and disappeared behind his seat.”

The poems in the second section, ON THE WARD, describe Holder’s experiences with those who make the hospital their home. Once again, his caring sense of humor creates a series of poems that are a pleasure to read. FIRST NIGHT ON THE JOB ON THE PSYCHIATRIC WARD is my favorite and typical of the poems in this second series: “The night seemed perfectly cast… / stormy, thunder and rain / the patient was biblical / long hair and a beard / with his staff at his command. // He put a paternal hand on me / and called me his finest creation / what could I do but thank him? / He smiled / with divine patronization / undoubtedly I was a much valued acolyte. // Then suddenly / a flash from the storm lit the building / in a momentary spectral glow / a clap of thunder howled down the locked ward. // He looked at me like a proud teacher / patting me on the back / “Good work kid, good work.”

Holder possesses the refreshing ability to create sparse, tightly woven poems from long sprawling lines. A poetic form that perfectly suits his talent for lifting the real-life characters that people his poems to new heights. This chapbook was originally published by Alpha Beat Press and features a delightful illustration of the poet on the back cover. Holder has a heart for people, and this collection is a shining testimony to that gift. I highly recommend it.

Laura Stamps is the author of more than twenty books of prose and poetry. Hundreds of her poems, short stories, poetry book reviews, and interviews have appeared in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and broadsides, including The Louisiana Review, Ibbetson Update, Poesy Magazine, Lummox Journal, Curbside Review, Lucid Moon Poetry Website and Poetry Motel. Her most recent poetry book is b>Restore My Soul (2002, Kittyfeather Press).

Laura Stamps, P.O. Box 212534, Columbia, SC 29221-2534, laurastamps@mindspring.com. If you would like to reprint this review or post it on the website, please email me: Laura Stamps (laurastamps@mindspring.com)