A Deed is a governmental conveyance, a power asserted by the
written, for, as William Carlos Williams wrote to Robert Creeley:
""the government can never be more than the government of the
words."" The question of ownership, of the words with which we
define ourselves and each other, and of whose and what claims are
legitimate is much at issue in Rod Smith's ""Deed"", a lyric,
ambitious, rebellious work thoroughly grounded in the New American
tradition of poets such as John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, and
Charles Olson. At the entrance to this collection stands an abode
in the form of a long poem, ""The Good House,"" a comfortable, at
times soothingly humorous place that is also a site of conflict. In
""The Spider Poems,"" the mythic spider, the maker of the alphabet,
is a figure of fun and revelation. The third section of the book
presents a series of shorter poems chosen for their stylistic
variety. ""Deed"" ends with a nod to two masters, as Smith turns
Jack Spicer's ""Homage to Creeley"" into a double homage with
""Homage to Homage to Creeley."" The gesture of choosing what one
brings into one's house, what one decides to love, closes the book.
""Deed"" is about making as bequeathing, as celebration, and as
impatience for the true democracy that is always yet to arrive.
There is still joy inside and out, and by giving us ""Deed"", Rod
Smith has captured that joy. In so doing, he tells us where we as a
people, a politik, and a poetic are going.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!