When I finished reading this collection, I reread my review of his last book and thought "could I have possibly loved it that much?" then, I reread some of the poems from it - yes, yes I did.So, what happened? This one feels like such a mess to me.To be honest, part of the problem lies with me. I prefer reading more concrete details and less abstraction, I suppose. So, add a star for being biased.Even still, I feel that many of these poems needed serious revision and time. I was very disappointed with this book. We read this for the bookstore poetry group and I'm very thankful for the discussion because I was at sea reading it myself. Dickman's poems aren't easily accessible but when read aloud they sound beautiful. His brother's death hangs over the book and it's hard not read that into many of the poems. In the acknowledgments, he mentions that several of the poems are written in memory of his brother.My two favorites were Shaving Your Father's Face and An Offering. These poems seem to hold together a little better than some of the others and were a bit more grounded. I'm showing my own biases here. The opening lines of An Offering shows Dickman at his most playful."Why not wrap the Lord upin his sleeping bagsand put him downstairsfor the night.So he'll be quiet."The book is described as exuberent surrealism, but the exuberance is one of someone laughing so they don't start crying. I think many of Dickman's abstract ideas are saved by his beautiful, concrete descriptions and his repetitive images which ground the works.
What do You think about Flies (2011)?
Another arrival from Academy of American Poets...
—atoto
