Directing Herbert White: Poems (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Some poems are definitely better than other, better constructed, better executed, and others are just poor. Sometimes I felt that the lack of a clear style felt more like a rambling Beat poet, and the sporadic line breaks confused me. My favorites are James Dean on Havenhurst (because I loved JF in the role of James Dean and loved seeing how he really became the character) and Ledger in which he contemplates the death of fellow actor Heath Ledger and what really killed him, the drugs or fame? There is also some saucy stuff about his relationship with actress Lindsay Lohan... I won't act like James is the next big poet, but as a fan I like reading his works and seeing some insight into his life. Total respect for Franco who, having achieved a modicum of success in acting and directing, decided to develop his writing skills as a way of creating passionate, youthful, irreverent lyrics that combine his bad-boy/beatnik sensibility with a sense of the mad order of the world and that most intriguing subject: celebrity. In the poem "Fake," Franco writes: there is a fake version of me and he's the one that writes these poemsIf it's a fake whom Franco summons to write these poems, then its fakery at it's best. Particularly enjoyable poems "Utah" "This Charming Man" and the film sonnets. It might not be poetry that changes how we read. But with this trajectory, surely the poems will continue to take us to new places
What do You think about Directing Herbert White: Poems (2014)?
Really liked the first half of the book. He's a fine writer and will mature into a finer one.
—Praveen
"There is a fake version of me and he's the one who writes these poems" sums it up well.
—Reidy
