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Book Reviews
Review by Connie Post http://www.poetrypost.com If one of the purposes of poetry is to explore our many journeys as humans, Martin Willitts Jr’s book, is an admirable effort in making this aspect of poetry come alive. In the 72 pages of free verse, the reader is taken through an exploration of nature, time travel, the “before and after” of the earth and language. I was drawn to the poems that highlight the human relationship with nature. For example, in his poem entitled “Lacy Tansyater” (a yellow Spiny Daisy”) – “these are my fingertips/these are the days that were ashamed/these were the excuses, so weak/ so bristly, you wanted nothing to do with them”. It reminds us of our complex relationships and bonds with gardens and nature. While reading these poems, I was reminded of the many languages within and our universe, (our own) and the many sub universes we create in our world. Or, for that matter, in our own minds. The Poem “ Before Letters” is another example of the unique exploration of language; “the alphabet is a bitten apple/its core already browning/ words are unruly, disobedient” . I enjoyed the rhythm of this poem very much. There are several poems in the middle of the book about the universe of Jackie Kennedy. I found it to be an interesting break in the flow of the poems, however, I saw it as another commentary on another kind of social universe in which we exist and create for ourselves. There were some poems in “Secret Language”, that I would have liked to seen end sooner. I feel that some of the poems would have had stronger meaning without some of the last lines. For example the Poem “Pacific Tree Frog”, may have ended more eloquently without the last stanza. I enjoyed the unique approach to the poems in this book. I felt I walked off the path of this earth, into the paths of the hidden worlds of nature, language and time. In his poem “Before Drama and Dance” Mr Willits says “before there was religion, there were storytellers”. These poems are the story tellers of what we have, (and most importantly) have not yet seen. Connie Post January 24, 2007 Read an excerpt from this book opens in new window About the Author Martin Willitts, Jr. was born in East Syracuse, New York and has a BA in World Literature from SUNY Brockport and a joint MLS in Information Studies and School Library Media from Syracuse University. He is currently a Senior Librarian for the New York State Department of Corrections and won the 2003 International John Cotton Dana Award for library programming and publicity. Formerly a professional puppeteer, he’s performed at the Kennedy Performing Arts, has been a professional oral storyteller winning numerous storytelling prizes, and a Jazz, Swing, and Blues on his vintage 1935 Dobro "resophonic" Mandolin player during the 60’s. Also an artist working with paper mediums in his spare time, he teaches high school students his origami haiku jumping frogs that actually bounce, makes paper cutouts using Victorian style, hua yang Chinese style, 3-d paper statues and masks for them. He also advises the students at the Norwich High School in NY on their poetry and they’ve won the High School poetry contest. Martin has been writing and publishing for over thirty years. He has been funded by Poets And Writers, listed on performersandprograms.com and www.nyslittree.org. He has published chapbooks such as "The Circle Will Not Be Broken" (Raw Dog Press, 1980), "Exit Laughing" (Backstreet Editions, 1982), "Transitions" (Writers Resource Center of Toledo, 1985), "Falling In and Out of Love" (Pudding House Publications, 2005. Martin has is co-editor for www.hotmetalpress.net.  |
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