Writing a review -- or, rather, will be writing a review of CA Conrad's 2nd edition (expanded edition) of The Book of Frank, published by the wonderful Wave Books. At which, I just need to say, former student and deeply talented poet Paige Clifton-Steele now works as intern. Any case, a short writeup from when I first got the book, a long time ago. In this post, reposted below, I had just cracked the thing open, so no real analysis here, but what the hell:
Got my very own Book of Frank (Chax Press), by CA Conrad. I can't believe I waited this long for this book. The book is extraordinary, so unsettling, naughty, allegorical, and funny at once. And each poem is so economical, and for reasons other than the workshop motto "your poem should be economical." The bang Conrad gets from each word astounds me. Just one example, a poem in its entirety (can't do justice to how it plays on the old inside/outside trope, as you can only imagine this poem among others, but itself surrounded by an ocean of page:
pig says to Frank
"this fence keeps you in your world"
Frank says to pig
"this fence keeps you in your world
pig says to Frank
"this fence keeps you in your world"
Frank says to pig
"this fence keeps you in your world"
pig says to Frank
"this fence keeps you in your world"
Allow me to point (en pointe?) you to Steven Fama's really fantastic writeup slash review of a) the new Dusie, chaps all available as pdfs online, and b) focusing on Mark Lamoureux's beautiful Dance Poems. This is a thorough, brilliant review, with example poems, close reading--so check it out. And as Fama notes, he's right now reading Spectre, Lamoureux's new full-length collection from Black Radish Books, publisher of Occultations. Spectre contains gem after gem. More on that soon.
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