The poems in Almost A Memoir represent metaphysical reflections of the end of life, immortality, and destiny. They will especially delight poetry readers who choose this book for these themes and their literary exploration.
The subjects are provided in sections of chapters (an unusual format for a poetry presentation) that both divide and define the works, creating a linked series of investigations that are striking in their reflections of life, death, and living in-between these states.
Almost a Memoir lives up to its name with its progressive chronicle of relationships and experiences. The collection opens with a cautionary note in “Months of Immortality”: “Everyone in my family/Dies during the month of October./You’ve got to know that about us/Before you get involved.”
As the chapters evolve, moving readers from the author’s life experiences to those of others, poetry readers will appreciate both the free verse’s astute reflections and the psychological analysis embedded in scenarios that range from life changes to family relationships. One such example is “Fabric of Coincidence”: “We’ve exposed the fabric of coincidence./Space and time like warp and weft/Guarded by three phantoms of fate./The first specter spins the thread of life/From her distaff onto the spindle./The second measures the thread with care./The third cuts the thread as it unravels/With her abhorred shears and assures us/Of an identical demise on different continents.”
More so than most collections, these poems work as a unit, building a continuity of analysis that assumes the form of autobiography, the plot of a novel, and the impact of literary analysis.
These poems have achieved the level of performance art since 2010, and have been presented as spoken word poetry in urban bars, bookstores, theatres, and coffeehouses.
Their appearance here, in print and under one cover, offers a fine opportunity for absorbing a narrative of life, relationships, and evolving perceptions of what it means to at once be moral and immoral, both on paper and in life.
Libraries strong in contemporary poetry representations, especially those that move from performance art to the written page, will find Almost A Memoir a fine example of this process and its impact. Creative writing discussion groups will ideally utilize it as an example of contrasting delivery devices between spoken and written word.