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Underdays: Poems by Martin Ott

Source: Bostick Communications
Paperback, 72 pgs.
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Underdays: Poems by Martin Ott is a collection that seeks to dissect human motivations to love, to hate, to soldier on, and more.  His poems express this search through a dialogue within their lines and between one another, almost like people in deep conversation.  Readers may see this technique as an extension of his days as a U.S. Army interrogator, as Ott continues to dig deeper to find kernels of truth and fact.  He opens with a poem that examines the undercarriage of retirement, what does it mean to retire, how does it feel.  In the poem, it’s clear that there is an expectation about retirement that does not come to pass:

From "The Interrogator in Retirement" (pg. 3)

He wants to love recklessly
but his eyes remain desert
dry, unable to view clear skies
without seeing the curtains,

He examines this new found freedom with a critical eye. How do you move beyond what came before, even if you have no further obligations and you’re beholden to only yourself and your desires?  Ott creates tales that unfold and fold unto themselves, taking readers on winding journeys — much like those in real life that are never a straight line from point A to point B.  His images are fresh and nuanced, and will force readers to rethink their own perceptions of retirement, work, and death.

From "Survivor's Manual to Love and War" (pg. 6)

Death is a loving dog
with no children or chew toys
to occupy its attention.
It will lick you into submission,
this inevitable pack instinct,
to join the vast departed.

He examines what it means to face death and how alluring it can be when things are hopeless, but he also counters these examinations with a look at how much we do to stave off death and avoid it altogether just so we can eek out just a little bit more time with loved ones. Ott’s images will stay with readers long after poems are read, like a man who turns into “a dragon … sucking fumes in motor pools” or the clacking of Salinger’s typewriter on the battlefield sounding “like gold fillings against wet pavement.”

Some poems seem to be about the mundane, like why he doesn’t set the clock in his car or why he doesn’t carry an umbrella, but these poems, too, become something more — a time travel journey with kids or the hidden dangers of the umbrella and how it can die just from being opened.  Underdays: Poems by Martin Ott, winner of the , turns over the rocks in our lives to find the darkness, the humor, and the introspective nature we hide as we trudge through daily activities.

About the Poet:

Born in Alaska and raised in Michigan, Martin Ott served as an interrogator in U.S. Army military intelligence. He moved to Los Angeles to attend the Masters of Professional Writing Program at USC, and often writes about his adopted city, including in the novel The Interrogator’s Notebook (currently being pitched by Paradigm as a TV pilot) and poetry books Captive, De Novo Prize Winner, C&R Press and Underdays, Sandeen Prize Winner, University of Notre Dame Press (Fall 2015).

Social and political themes are prevalent in all of his books, particularly Poets’ Guide to America and Yankee Broadcast Network, coauthored with John F. Buckley, Brooklyn Arts Press and his short story collection, Interrogations, Fomite Press (Spring 2016).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guilt Gene by Diana M. Raab

Diana M. Raab‘s The Guilt Gene is a collection steeped in nostalgia that fails to glorify the past.  The collection is broken down into six sections:  “Cherry Blossoms, Book Tour, Two Evils, The Devil Wears a Poem, Yad Vashem, and California Roll.”  Additionally, “guilt” is defined in the pages preceding the table of contents, although most readers are aware of its definition and uses.

In “Cherry Blossoms,” Raab revisits the bloom of her youth when she was just beginning to discover boys and realize that she wasn’t popular with her classmates.  Hindsight is 20-20 in these poems as she examines how the behavior of her mother impacted her adolescence, particularly in “Moth Balls.”

The “Book Tour” section of the book is amazing in its raw honesty about never taking advantage of friendships because they are incredibly loyal and the emotional toll writing books, publishing them, and marketing them to the general public.  Raab discusses how writing is a reflection of who authors and poets actually are, the depression that follows the completion of a book, and many other scenarios.

Author Blues (page 26)

If women after delivering a baby

suffer post-partum,

why can’t writers

after delivering a book

suffer post-ISBN?

Raab’s frank perspective is like a hammer hitting readers with a deep sense of loss in “Two Evils.”  Her personal struggle with breast cancer is vivid and pulsates with anger, but also with confusion and a child-like wonder about the world around her.  Like her previous collection, Dear Anais (my review), some of the poems take on the tone of a diarist, an observer of life.  The Guilt Gene covers a range of events and emotions, and Raab will draw in readers through her casual tone, witty turn of phrase, and images that anchor readers to a time and place.  One of the best collections I’ve read this year. 

Thanks to Bostick Communications and Shirley at Newman Communications for sending along The Guilt Gene by Diana M. Raab for review.

This is my 7th book for the Clover Bee & Reverie Poetry Challenge.

DNF Books

I normally try to read every book, even ones that I find difficult to read, but it is time for me to set aside these books for good.  I either didn’t like the writing style or the subject matter.  But look for an opportunity to grab ahold of these and give them a try for yourself.

I will provide a synopsis from either the publisher, author, or Amazon.com site for your review and a couple sentences why I didn’t finish these books despite my normal penchant for finishing everything I read.

1.  Gold Dust on His Shirt by Irene Howard

Gold Dust on His Shirt is an evocative telling of the experience of a Scandinavian immigrant family of hard-rock miners at the turn of the century and up to World War II. Based on fascinating historical research, these are tales of arriving in ‘Amerika,’ blasting the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, work in the mines, and domestic life and labour struggles in company towns throughout British Columbia.

While initially the prologue drew me in with the writer’s inspiration for writing the book, I soon discovered a more textbook-like writing style in the subsequent chapters, which were too dry for me to continue.  Although I am sure this book contains some great historical information about the immigrant experience of miners, I was not as interested in the subject matter as I had hoped.

2.  Little Stories by Jeff Roberts


Little Stories takes a critical look at the inevitable moments of betrayal and loneliness in our awkward quest to love and be loved, but the reader will discover the value – and even joy – to be had by looking backward and facing the past. This brilliant collection of tales should not be missed.

I found the dialogue in the first story to be pedestrian, and I didn’t feel a connection to the characters.  With a compilation of short stories, it is difficult to connect with characters in those stories, but some collections do better than others.  Unfortunately, this was not one of those collections for me.

3.  The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

In The Reluctant Widow, Eleanor Rochdale, a young woman of good birth but straitened circumstances, sets out to accept a position as a governess and ends up plunged into a tangle of foreign intrigue instead.

Georgette Heyer has received great reviews from other bloggers in the blogosphere, but for some reason The Reluctant Widow failed to hold my attention on more than on occasion. 

4.  Loving Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan

Darcy and Lizzy venture away from Pemberley to journey through England, finding friends, relatives, fun, love, and an even deeper and more sacred bond along the way. Having embarked on the greatest adventure of all, marriage and the start of a new life together, now the Darcys take the reader on a journey through a time of prosperity, enjoyment, and security. They experience all the adventures of travel, with friends and relatives providing both companionship and complications, and with fun as their focus.
This is the second book in Sharon Lathan’s Pride & Prejudice spin-off based loosely upon the 2005 movie and Austen’s work. I picked up my copy at last year’s Book Expo America, but I’ve realized that the endearments and lack of plot action and character development leave me cold.  I must warn readers that Lathan will enter the bedroom with Darcy and Elizabeth, so if you prefer something more sedate, this is not for you.

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City Above the Sea and Other Poems by Stephen Alan Saft

City Above the Sea and Other Poems by Stephen Alan Saft is the poet’s third book of poems, which I received through Bostick Communications. Saft’s preface will provide readers with insight into his background and possible influences. He discusses the different types of poems found in the volume. Some of the poems were previously performed with live music.

The title poem, “City Above the Sea,” paints a vivid picture of this future-like city with glass towers and green vines hanging. The A-A-B-B rhyme scheme of the poem is not as distracting as other rhyming poems are because the images are so vivid and transport the reader into this technologically efficient world. The poem touts the benefits of technology in creating electric cars and other less polluting tools and devices, but in stanza 10 the mood changes. In a way, the poem preaches to the reader about the need of society to save humanity.

“Population grows. Suburbs intrude on the land of the cow/Where once the farmer tilled with tractor and plow/How will we feed ourselves when out numbers double?/Meanwhile the sea rises putting other land in trouble//” (Page 15, Stanza 11)

Saft’s romantic nature comes to light in “The Cucumber Plant to the Sun,” as he weaves images of a growing plant reaching for the sun begging to be that same sun’s only love. This poem will make readers smile as they see the plant growing in the nurturing light and unfurling its tendrils.

Saft’s use of language in “Tomatoes” reminds me of so many of my favorite, yet poignant, poems in Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s book A Coney Island of the Mind. There is a great deal of alliteration in this poem, but there is much more going on in it. It has a primal nature that readers must discover.

Whether the verse is free or rhyming, Saft skillfully paints a vivid picture or narrative through which he cracks open the underbelly of reality and the beauty inherent in that reality. Readers will enjoy his fresh images and innovative language.

Also Reviewed By:
Puss Reboots
Never Without a Book
Considering All Things Literary

About the Poet:

Stephen Alan Saft, also known as S.A. Saft, is a writer of essays, novels, plays and poetry. As a poet, Saft has written over a hundred poems, many of which he has presented in public readings. Saft’s poetry is a combination of blank verse, free verse and rhyming pieces, some of which were written to be performed with music. Saft has given poetry readings in Virginia, Maine, Vermont, California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Washington DC, in some cases to the accompaniment of a jazz band.