Michael Harlow. Heart absolutely I can. ISBN 978-0-473-27647-8. Hoopla Series. Wellington: Mākaro Press, 2014.
This new series, from Mākaro Press in Wellington, is edited by Mary McCallum, whose first novel The Blue won the Montana NZ Readers’ Choice Award in 2008. The idea is to put out three “Hoopla” books each year: “A new poet joins a mid-career and a late-career poet.” As the press release puts it: “We like strong work that steps onto the tightrope without hesitation and gives the performance of its life.” Michael Harlow is, of course, the most established of the three poets on display in this initial offering, and it’s nice to see so many familiar old friends in this selection from his poetry to date. I’ll confine myself to one quote, from “Translating Narcissus”: “The stranger in the Oyster Bar at Grand Central / waiting for the train he kept missing, who confessed / in a whisper that grew up kissing himself a good / many times goodnight in the bedroom mirror. / And he was, he said, let’s face it, a big-time masturbator.” [p.42] – No problem, but not easy.
(26-27/9/14)
Poetry New Zealand Yearbook 1 [Issue #49]. ISSN 0114-5770 (2014): 231.
[187 wds]
Poetry NZ Yearbook 1 (2014)
•
No comments:
Post a Comment