Book Reviews

When I first started this, I though it terribly sad. I didn't see the connections clearly at first, but I read on. At the the end, I still believe it terribly sad, but I have a much larger picture than the mere words, by themselves, give. Life often is sad. Yet, among the sadness, one is able to pick up moments of joy. It is one of the beauties of poetry to be able to say so much in so few words. Dove's chronology in the back give it the connections to reality, but aren't necessary to see the life stories given. Probably most of the poems here could stand on their own, but they would be less by themselves. We would understand less. It would be as if one were to read only a single chapter of a novel. It's a beautiful book, one that calls me to reread.

Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry by Reginald Shepherd is undoubtedly one of the more difficult books I have ever read. Shepherd's thinking is a few levels above mine. He's definitely more academic than I. I still enjoyed it. Having an intellectual poet's viewpoint was enlightening, since I'm always looking for a better understanding of poetry.

His first chapter, "Portrait of the Artist," provides a perspective from which to comprehend his discourse. In the following chapters, Shepherd so conscientiously quotes and credits, that by the time I figured out what his point was, I had also learned a lot about what poetry is. (Also it gave me new ideas of my own about how to write poetry.) The section on readings was interesting and provided information about poetry, but since I have not yet read the poems/writings he's writing about, I have no thoughts of my own to compare with his. Shepherd did make me more interested in reading them, however, in particular those by Samuel R. Delaney, because I have read some of his other work. I think he saved the best for the end. There was a lot in his final chapter, "Why I write" -- things to make me think about poetry and about writing in general.

This isn't a book for the average reader. The very quotes and credits I found helpful by the time I understood, were also the stumbling blocks to easy reading. If you love explorations of poetry (in addition to poetry itself) and are at least somewhat intellectually inclined, it is worth the effort to read.