STEVE DALACHINSKY Reviews
Welcome Distractions: Accessible Poems forTime-Strapped Humans by Carol Wierzbicki
(Unbearable
Autonomedia Press, 2018)
The subtitle of Carol Wierzbicki's new book Welcome Distractions says it all, "Accessible
Poems for Time-Strapped Humans". This is further emphasized by poet/artist
Yuko Otomo's blurb which is simply "...the humane manner in which she uses
language is her strength and grace." The book is divided into three
sections "Political, Residential and Commercial",
"Relationships", and "Words and Music". In the first
section she pokes fun at everything including the world she so often gravitates
in (poetry). From "World Champion Cat Breeder": "So you're big
in the poetry world / Who cares? / It's like being a champion cat breeder / You
move in weird, fussy / little circles / where egos erupt like cat-spit."
How true. It's a brutal poem filled with dark humor. "Do people...hang on
your every word? / Well they're just poets / they already know what you're
going to say..." And this is just the tip of this very cold iceberg where
the poet ends up in the litter box. The irreverence of these poems in the first
section especially are best read aloud to yourself in front of a mirror so you
can see and not just feel what's it's like to be cut down to size. In "10
ways to Get into the Next Whitney Biennial (with Apologies to David Letterman),”
here's just a taste: "6. Take a cheesecake shot of your mother wearing no
bra..." Get the book to see the rest of this sentence. Or "9. duct
tape your dryer to a piece of drywall", "2. feed your dog some peanut
butter. Let the camera roll until he's finished licking it all off". You
get the idea. From "Mammogram": "There is no Homecoming King /
Only the angel of Death lurking inside / the X-ray machine." In the
words and music section we get "Song Request" where Wierzbicki
intones "I just want to hear "Kiss" / that impossibly funky tune
/ with Prince shrieking over a deep bass groove. / Heartbreak and
disappointment are on tap tonight / for this brother and sister / two fish out
of water." I won't even attempt to quote from "Listening to Sonny
Rollins", one of those rare poems which centers around coming into
adulthood and never even hint at what is contained in the title. Sheer
brilliance and rare indeed. In "To a Bass Player" Wierzbicki again
talks about the angst of growing up and how "My dad once had a stand-up
bass / like yours...played Polish weddings and big-band orchestras / and small
ensembles." You feel her speaking to this musician internally while
listening to him play as you feel the melancholy of lost times. "O rats O
cats O homunculi..." This is a book that will make you laugh. Cry. And
wonder why. As Wierzbicki puts it, "I'm not a killjoy; / I just want
people / to stop telling me to smile." "Look out your window / See
how the stars come out / and the moon blesses your wounds." Read this book
and look into your window and see what you might find there there.
*****
Poet/collagist Steve
Dalachinsky was born in Brooklyn after the last big war and has managed to
survive lots of little wars. His book The Final Nite (Ugly
Duckling Presse) won the PEN Oakland National Book Award. His latest cds are The
Fallout of Dreams with Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach (Roguart 2014) and ec(H)o-system
with the French art-rock group, the Snobs (Bambalam 2015). He has received both
the Kafka and Acker Awards and is a 2014 recipient of a Chevalier D’ le Ordre
des Artes et Lettres. His poem “Particle Fever” was nominated for a 2015
Pushcart Prize. His most recent books include Fools Gold (2014
feral press), a superintendent's eyes (revised and expanded
2013/14 - unbearable/autonomedia), flying home, a collaboration
with German visual artist Sig Bang Schmidt (Paris Lit Up Press 2015) and “The
Invisible Ray” (Overpass Press – 2016) with artwork by Shalom Neuman.
