Reviews:
Only a Bullet will Stop Me Now - Poetry, Neil Wright. Earl of Seacliff Workshop, Wellington. $15.00. Neil Wright cannot be accused of ignoring history. The Greeks, Romans, Athenians, Carpathians, you name it. Such a rich heritage that Neil Wright got spurred at an early age to write about; millions of his own lines to celebrate it. Nothing wrong with that. But that doesn't tell you much about this book, does it? Some might recall that the artist's greatest asset is his wastepaper bin. I feel that Wright must have felt 'resistance is futile' when he dragged himself into this mammoth epic. He might say 'somebody had to do it', whereas we might suggest that we would never have missed it! Although there are some entertaining pieces here, much is built around mundane thoughts and clichés - just goes to show that in some respects we haven't learned a lot from the past. Have a read - I figure there's a little of something in here for everyone. I hope I am right. National Anthem, poems by Leonard Lambert. Headworx Press, Wellington.$19,95. This little book is a welcome addition to the increasing volume of new writing recently. Lambert is a bit of a veteran, really, His is a perceptive eye, honed with plenty of experience. He knows where to place his finger to get the essence. Rockshores, waves, beating hearts and the high ferocity of life will do any set of tired senses good. Whenever Lambert turns over a rock on the beach, there is a poem there. All of it - no pretensions, just new, old, real. And, the mind an unwritten book - the fantasies in 'Chapter Three'. So much to live for. This man does not clutch at mirrors. My advice is to get hold of this book and entertain yourself - with no constraints - after all, Lambert says in 'The Timegate' “I fell asleep in a house without walls”. I am not going to give anything else away from this beautiful little book. Read it for yourself.
The Life and the Dark, Poems by Richard Reeve, Auckland University Press. $21.99 Richard Reeve's first collection of poems, 'Dialectic of Mud' was a landmark in new poetry in New Zealand. This is another step forward. Being so young, you cannot expect Reeve to regress. He hasn't. A former enemy of 'the establishment', Reeve is now making new rules for it. I can't go into a deep review here, space doesn't permit. However I am glad this book is getting the review attention it deserves. Somebody has compared Reeve to James K Baxter - Reeve is only comparable to himself, thoroughly original. A clever wordmonger of the first order (in the age of junk text messaging!), he is at best reading his own work, live. That has been an unforgettable experience for me. Until you hear him again, you can buy this book and read it aloud, yourself. I recommend that.
Liars and Lovers. A Travel Memoir. Diane Brown. A Vintage book, Random House, Auckland. $26.95. 256 pages. Diane Brown gives the great OE a life and lustre not seen since Manhire, Brunton and friends flew kites in Hyde Park in the early 1970's. Others we know spent exciting lives overseas too. Katherine Mansfield, Francis Hodgkins. Also Janet Frame. This is a great book to read if you are crossing Cook Strait in a ferry on a calm day and have plenty of time on your hands. But that is a bit flippant. The candidness of this book should not be mistaken for naïvety. It takes some courage to bare one's life as well, and as clearly as Diane Brown has done. But does it tell us anything new? Maybe not but, as they say, there's a book in everyone. Brown has an impressive body of work available already and I strongly suggest that we should take an extra long look at this one.
Fool Moon. Poems. Murray Edmond. Auckland University Press. #27.99. I remember publishing Edmonds' first book (was it?), a Caveman Press book; a book seemingly unavailable today. It was called “Entering the Eye” and was a proud addition to that stable. Whereas many poets from that era have passed on, disappeared or simply run away, Edmond has always been around, somewhere. The photo-graphs by Joanna Forsberg are unforgettable and a true testimony to the value of including the visual arts with poetry. So beautiful and sensitive. Edmond doesn't need a megaphone. He's not mucking around with nostalgia here. How the eye sharpens with age, you could say. “Now people build their own prisons” he says in 'Elegy for Mama'. There is much in these poems that should suggest to us all that the true artist can release us from those prisons. Edmond's book is a magnificent contribution in this regard.
On River Road. A novel by Chris Else. A Vintage Book published by Randon House, Auckland. $26.95, 366pp. Good value for a book of this length, this novel explores the complex relationships of a family in tragedy, in a small, tight rural, community. This is not a theme that has been done to death yet, so look out for some surprising and realistic insights. It is about what happened in the past and whether the future will be the better for it, or worse. When you are in close proximity to others who have experienced the same things, but with different reactions, there are always sparks flying. Chris Else charts it with an almost detached set of perceptions and we are all the better for it in all that is revealed. Chris Else is a classy and economical writer, using plenty of 'pull and tug' dialogue. I recommend this book for early reading - it's long, but it's good.
Bullet Poems (in four rounds). Poetry by Mark Pirie. Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, Wellington. With some seven collections of poetry in such a short time (Pirie is yet to push 30), here is a prolific literary achiever once again on the go. This is a stapled little book of 42 pages. Pirie loves to have political thrust in his recent work - he shows that gratuitous violence is never far from the surface in any human action. Who better to chronicle what's going on than the poet or artist? If he were a woman doing this stuff, he would probably be grandly ignored. I feel though, that Pirie, in his treatment of women in his poems, has a less than sure touch. I feel he is dodging bullets here and there. Ah well, not everything in this world can be bang on. 'Hitting the Target' is pungent. “Let's leave politics / out of this / and issues of / race / and pretend / the shot was / never fired”. It is about Waitangi Day, February 6th, 2003. His poem about Bill Sewell (who died too early) is strong. But if you want some fun and hilarity (and also some comments about this over-regulated state), see 'Urgency' (The Poet's Bill). I can even see James K. Baxter turning slowly in his grave, chuckling here. “I move that urgency be accorded” says the last line. Why not? A nod to older exponents of poetry is in Pirie's poem to Peter Olds. It concludes “From this point / of place of strangled history / there are no easy answers”. So true, and it is thrown out as a challenge to us by Pirie. Have we any answers? Other poems, like 'Cricket Man': “Ask him of the past / ask him in the dark” This shows Pirie as the thinking poet's poet. There are many of us who think that art, poetry, are random or bought, fashionable, delectable, and acceptable. Pirie brings us down to earth. There's a touch of Ginsberg here and there. Well, if you're going to copy anyone, copy the masters. Here, in 'The Malibu Beach Fires - An Arsonist Speaks' finishes with the last line “fuck you America”. Pirie is able to process information in a unique way. I suggest you listen to what this book has to say and look for collection number eight. I am sure it will be even more rewarding.
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