coffeehouse poetry anthology, edited by: june king & larry smith, published by bottom dog press; c/o fireland college, huron ohio usa 44839. pp240, price: $10.95

it was only a matter of time before a book came out which recorded the american coffeehouse scene. this is a sensational selection that reads well and yet retains the hot bombastic feel of those southern coffeehouses. many of us know that poems that go over well at the open-mic often bomb on the page. these poems won’t disappoint you.

a unique features of this anthology is the inclusion of the statements on state and importance of coffeehouse poetry. some truly stand out like the statement by richard hague who wrote that poetry in coffehouses and bars work best if it’s loud and catchy. whether it’s long or short spoken poetry should seize the audience with it rhythm or cadence or with it punchy endings.

many of these writers emphasize the diversity of both the poets and their poetry, since poems range from the academic to the punk or a little of both. these styles can be found in the loud urban venues of new york’s nuyorican poet café, or the babar in san francisco.

i wondered at the resurgence in poetry readings and i like what mona locke writes concerning the poet and the audience; “they want honest, accessible expressions of life experiences and philosophies relevant to their lives today...” james tolan argues that explosive increase in electronic communications and media have created barriers to human interaction. these venues provide the contact and immediate release and reception of our emotions, and i agree. the best of these statements is by a.d. winans, who provides relevance and perspective. he suggests that poetry, whatever its form, is as much about being human as is birth and death. these three writers as well as a huge number of others are part of a conversation that is ongoing throughout north america. one in which i thrill at listening to and being apart of.

as a conversation this one is ongoing. there are no definitive answers to issues of the relative importance of street, stand up, or spoken word poetry or its relation to written poetry. despite these differences, contributors to this anthology argue for inclusiveness of all these styles.

i have been waiting for a book like this. the poetry is fresh and it works well on and off the page. read aloud these poems will provide you with excitement, and move you to laugh and cry.

poems of note: jennifer boszeld’s, pa at mcr & living in the house of yes; sou broskowitz’s bea, the beautiful story of a grandmother remembered; thomas crowes’ overpopulation, even on the page i could feel the insistent power of this poem, imagine the reading and how it would deeply move its listeners; daniel garrett’s tenderness; leanne grabel the puffy, a great piece of social commentary; steve hartman’s love connection; susan james’ lucia at fifteen & feeling we mistake for love; vicki l. kennedy’s interview; jeff poniewaz’s the real thing & why young men wore their long in the sixties, in “the real thing” poniewaz attacks the notion that ideas and word can be owned; margaret rozga’s kara, is a positive piece about kara a person who is centred and does her own thing while she listens to the music in her head and blood; denise sedman’s the salty girls from detroit city; larry smith’s the students this year this was a moving poem, i could feel anguish of this prof’s inability to do something for students he knew couldn’t be helped; daniel thompson words; and finally, a. d. winans for all those kids who wrote poems for bukowski. this book has one canadian entry by the name of myrna garanis of edmonton alberta and it is almost cliché to say that her poem is about leonard cohen, well at least indirectly, his name is in the title: what to wear to leonard cohen.

Have you seen the writing on the wall

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Managing Editor: b stephen harding, Editor: Robert Craig, Consulting Editor: Seymour Mayne, Art Consultant: Kane Faucher
Guest Editor: David Collins
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