Homeless Chronicles, by Gerard Sarnat

After reading Homeless Chronicles: from Abraham to Burning Man by TFR contributor Gerard Sarnat, I imagine this scenario:

Before beginning his literary career, Sarnat, a medical doctor, seeks out the advice of a friend in the poetry world. His friend gives him this advice: “Write what you know.” And Sarnat, a man of science, thinks about what he really knows — where he comes from, who he is, how the world affects him and vice versa. Then he compiles it all into about 70 pieces of poetry and prose, and sends it to press.

The result: an exercise in self-exploration that still manages to have something meaningful to say to its readers. In other words, a rare collection.

Many of Sarnat’s works tell the story of his family history: stories of his great-great-grandparents, their children, and down through the ages to Sarnat himself, and to his own children and grandchildren. He also tells stories from his own early life as “pallid carrot-topped Gerry Sarnat” ["Exfiltrated"]. But these aren’t just diary entries. Sarnat’s work is infused with cultural references, from the use of Yiddish words to broader themes of racism, insiders versus outsiders, overcoming adversity. By the time readers reach the book’s final work, “Rites of Spring,” which we excerpted in our Spring 2008 issue, they’ve shared a coming-of-age experience with the author.

Visit www.gerardsarnat.com, and check out Homeless Chronicles here.

–Ciara LaVelle

Valency, a review

Turning the pages of Wahlgren’s latest compilation of poetry, Valency, almost felt like landing in the midst of a jazz concerto in the backdrop of a Chicago sunset. Effervescent musicality strikes you in all of these works. Tonal control, judicious use of line breaks and lack of excessive language is evident, as in, “Between Us”:

I love maps. The gap between the plateaus
and sow. The fields filled with Comma,

and music. Each arpeggio dictates
with space, an empty chord, strong and stringed.

You sting me with you….

“Song, After” offers a fine glimpse of experimentation employed in word play:

I’m thinking no, but maybe a flinch
in your engine will sail
you my way. Word beside word, I spelt

pricelessness in a dark cove. I’m a drifter
amidst fog and mist, a curse,
begging to begin the race….

as does “Blind”:

Only if we were structures
throughout historical measure-
& in tablespoons we measured,
what’s felt by sense within; two objects, a bifocal

In the same space?
How to define this plan?…

Although far removed from latinate, the surrealistic aspects coupled with keen awareness and liberal usage of rhythmic subtleties is reminiscent of writings of Spanish poets, Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis de Gongora. Wahlgren’s poetry often seeks to dismantle and explore hitherto uncommonly discussed relationships between an object and an idea, or say ‘void’. Like, for example, the lines from “The Cove”:

I am a cup, an oval of great stature-

The wreckage of the ship, the helm cannonball
I am born anew from the counterculture.

Flames in water; we salute

the cove- from which love came into being.
The stem of the apple falls

into the on- fire- bushes.

The true hero of the compilation is, undoubtedly, the poetic imagination. Words given birth to, molded as soft putty, whisked and cast into something not so tangible, yet felt as if it were. A cohesive collection of poetry, these poems may require several readings in order to fully comprehend the intricacies and connotations of complex metaphors. As described in the poet’s own words, Valency, is “the affinity of atoms reacting with one another or metaphorically one’s affinity for certain poetry.” Aptly named, indeed.

Valency by J. Michael Wahlgren ( publisher: BlazeVOX books); cover artwork by Sarah Schneider.

Welcome to Summer

We’re excited to show you the stellar works of poetry and fiction we’ve found for you this season. Peruse, enjoy, and let us know your thoughts.

What Bright Messages

Yes, we’ve featured Andrew Demcak’s latest book, A Single Hurt Color, before. But that was before we’d had a copy in our own hands. Now that I’ve turned its last pages, I’m happy to report that Demcak has produced a collection of mesmerizing poetry that warrants another, deeper look.

Collected into three sections — Third Person, Second Person and First Person — the pieces throughout showcase Demcak’s inimitable voice in a variety of formats. Consistent throughout is the poet’s gift for evoking entire scenes in just a few lines:

The open mouth of his hat left on the bed,
howling.
—“Lice”

Many poems are expert compilations of these scenes, presented without introduction or explanation, to create the narrative of the poem. The flow of the book itself often seems to intimate a plot as well — pieces about the death of loved ones followed by a mournful scene; explorations of addiction followed by a piece titled “Relapse.”

But whatever broader story lies beneath, it never outshines the poetry itself: languid and descriptive sometimes, blunt and cutting at others, but crisp with action from start to finish.

For another peek inside, check out today’s feature on Demcak at Verse Daily.

—Ciara LaVelle