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Reflections of Hostile Revelries by Jennifer C. Wolfe


Source: Poet Jennifer C. Wolfe
Paperback, 108 pages
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Reflections of Hostile Revelries: A Collection of Political Poetry Musings by Jennifer C. Wolfe is another collection of political poetry ripped from the headlines, as the narrator comments on the mistakes made by our political leaders and political campaigns gone wrong.  These poems read more like critical essays, rather than verse, using a narrative prose style that grabs a headline and picks it apart with a fine-toothed comb to unveil the unsupported facts of today’s political platforms and the flip-flopping of candidates eager to please the masses.  She covers topics ranging from immigration enforcement to the “nanny” state laws, and some of these poems are hilarious in their re-appropriation of pop culture.

Not Quite the Flintstones (page 87)

In honor of everything having to do with our fumbling friends at the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I would like to present
A memorable TV cartoon sing-song within a new light:

FEMA! Meet the FEMA!
They're a large disaster family;

From the town of D.C.,
They're a sad page out of history,

Someday, maybe they will get things right,
Then they'll be able to fix a plight.

When you're with the FEMA,
It's a Yabba-dabba-do time,

Hard to find food time;
We'll have a dismal time!

[insert cherry, twelve second big band musical interlude]

Repeat: We'll have a dismal time!
(Screaming): FEMA!

Wolfe has an uncanny sense of humor, while still calling attention to the problems in today’s government. Like the horrifying news we hear and see on the radio, Internet, and television, these poems call attention to the problems in government — ones as voters we should be paying attention to and looking for ways to resolve them when voting for candidates — and brings to life the humor of the situation, and sometimes in a particularly ridiculous way.  Wolfe does not stop at just politicians, poking fun and holes in big business like the banking sector’s use of fees to charge money to its own customers for using their own debit cards provided to them by the banks that issue them.  She even crosses the U.S. borders into international politics.

Benghazi, Libya Aftermath -- A Haiku for You (page 69)

Barack Obama,
On four dead Americans:
"A bump in the road."

Reflections of Hostile Revelries: A Collection of Political Poetry Musings by Jennifer C. Wolfe uses longer narrative poems to critique the world around us, but she also uses haiku to comment on events.  And a haiku may be the best way to comment on some of the most tragic events that have occurred in recent years, particularly those that have left us speechless.

About the Poet:

Jennifer C. Wolfe grew up in Maplewood, Minn., and studied fiction writing and poetry at Century College in White Bear Lake. Mississippi. Wolfe has five previous publishing credentials: a poem “If” included within the Century College (White Bear Lake, MN) Spring 2008 Student Lounge literary magazine along with three poetry manuscripts, Kick the Stones: Everyday Hegemony, Empire, and Disillusionment published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, October 2008, Yukon Rumination: Great Fun for All in the Land of Sarah Palin’s Joe Sixpack Alaska, published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, June 2009, and Healing Optimism, and Polarization, published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, February 2010, and two poems “St. Patrick’s Day” and “Roller Coaster,” published within the online edition of Scrambler Magazine, Issue 39, June 2010.

Other Reviews:

Book 24 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

Mailbox Monday #284

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what we got from the library sale for the little one:

1. Curious George and the Puppies by Margret Rey and H.A. Rey for 25 cents.

When George and the man with the yellow hat visit the animal shelter, George is delighted to discover a large litter of puppies. At first, George just wants to pet the puppy, but then he wants to hold one. George’s curiosity gets the best of him, and soon puppies are everywhere.

2. ¡Vamos a bailar! Let’s Dance! The Dora the Explorer Music Collection for 50 cents.

3. Skippyjon Jones in the Dog-House by Judy Schachner for 25 cents.

For another loco adventure. In his room for a time-out, Skippyjon Jones lets his imagination take him to a shack where his Chihuahua friends are yipping and yapping and hiding out from the bad Bobble-ito, who has taken over their doghouse. How El Skippito chills the Chihuahuas and banishes the Bobble-ito will make more amigos for this endearing and irresistible rascal.

4. The Mermaid’s Lullaby by Kate Spohn for 50 cents.

Glitter sparkles on every page of this genuine treasure by Kate Spohn, whose work has been described as “truly extraordinary” by the Horn Book Reviewand “luminous” by Kirkus Reviews. This is a tender sea song, sung to sleepy mermaid babies by mer-mommies and mer-daddies. From the tapping of the sea urchins and the sound of bubbly voices to flashing fish and the circle of mermaid dancers, children will be lulled by words as soothing as lapping waves and captivated by art that is joyful and inviting.

5.  New Tales: Pandora and Vittorio, the Vampire by Anne Rice for 50 cents.

In Pandora, fledgling vampire David Talbot chronicles the history of Pandora, a two-thousand-year-old vampire, and in fifteenth-century Renaissance Florence, Vittorio finds his world shattered when his entire family is destroyed in an act of unholy violence and embarks on a desperate quest for revenge, in Vittorio, the Vampire, in an omnibus edition.

6.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan from a friend.

What should we have for dinner?” To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore’s dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn’t—which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore’s dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we’re realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore’s Dilemma is bestselling author Michael Pollan’s brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

7.  The Book of Goodbyes by Jillian Weise from Academy of American Poets.

Weise’s collection “examines the daily life and consciousness of a speaker with a disability willing to confront all taboos associated with sex, intimacy, identity, gender, and love.” – Coldfront Magazine

The Los Angeles Times described Jillian Weise’s debut poetry collection as “a fearless dissection of the taboo and the hidden.” In this second collection she forwards her bold, sexy poetics by chronicling an affair with a man she names “Big Logos.” These poems throw into question sex, the law, identity, sentiment, and power, shifting between lyric and narrative, hyper-realism and magical realism, fact and fiction.

8.  Put Your Hands In by Chris Hosea from Academy of American Poets.

“Exactly a century ago, the Armory Show brought European avant-garde art to New York. We are still experiencing its consequences. Among the works on view was Marcel Duchamp’s notorious Nude Descending a Staircase, which a derisive critic wanted to rename ‘Explosion in a Shingle Factory.’ Both titles come to mind as one reads Chris Hosea’s Put Your Hands In, which somehow subsumes derision and erotic energy and comes out on top. Maybe that’s because ‘poetry is the cruelest month, ‘ as he says, correcting T. S. Eliot. Transfixed in midparoxysm, the poems also remind us of Samuel Beckett’s line (in Watt): ‘The pain not yet pleasure, the pleasure not yet pain.’ One feels plunged in a wave of happening that is about to crest.” — John Ashbery, from his judge’s citation for the Walt Whitman Award.

9.  Reflections of Hostile Revelries by Jennifer C. Wolfe from the poet for review.

Jennifer C. Wolfe’s new collection Reflections of Hostile Revelries is the voice in our heads that needs to be spoken. In this progressive work, Wolfe targets our richest and most powerful enemies addressing their essential flaws and epic mistakes while reminding the reader these are the exact people running our countries. Reflections of Hostile Revelries is direct and honest oral poetics and will leave you tired, but eager to read on. —Jordan Antonucci, Editor, Monkey Puzzle Press “Jennifer Wolfe’s second book, Reflections of Hostile Reveries, takes as its subject the American political landscape. In biting and often hilarious poems that spare no one, Wolfe skewers the absurdity and inanity of our politics and politicians. Everyone gets called out–from Sarah Palin to Barack Obama, from Chris Christie to the Supreme Court. Wolfe showcases her talents in a wide range of forms, from long-lined, discursive poems to haikus.

What did you receive?

144th Virtual Poetry Circle

Welcome to the 144th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Click for Schedule

Also, sign up for the 2012 Fearless Poetry Reading Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Please visit the stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour from April 2011 and beginning again in April 2012.

Today’s poems is from Jennifer C. Wolfe, author of Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow. She’s sharing a poem from one of her upcoming collections, Elegies of Vitriolic Harmony, and she is working on another collection, Reflections of Hostile Revelries, as well:

(Roving) Eye of Newt

Ah, Newt Gingrich—that alleged everyman, who cheated on
His first two wives, while they were hospitalized; sallying forth,
To marry his third voluptuous blonde bedroom conquest.

Yes, Newt Gingrich—that alleged “family values” supporter,
Who remarked that his first sick wife was not “young enough or
Pretty enough to be the (US) President’s wife.”

My, Newt Gingrich—that realistic pinnacle of chauvinism,
Self-righteously imagining a working scenario, where he would
Even be elected to the US Presidency, in the first place.

Watch out, current “Mrs.”  Calista Gingrich:
You’ve won yourself the equivalent of the garish stuffed animal
Nobody wants from the gambling midway at a State Fair.

What do you think?

***For Today’s National Poetry Month Blog Tour stop, check out Peeking Between the Pages.***

103rd Virtual Poetry Circle

Welcome to the 103rd Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2011 Fearless Poetry Reading Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry.  Please contribute to the growing list of 2011 Indie Lit Award Poetry Suggestions, visit the stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour from April.

Today’s poem is from Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow:  Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama by Jennifer C. Wolfe, which I reviewed earlier this month:

Recipe for Tea Party Iced Tea (page 36)

1 part frenzy, 1 part hatred,
1 part smugness, 1 part self righteousness,
1 part holier-than-thou arrogance, 1 part skewed eccentricity,
1 part lockstep agenda, 1 part self-aggrandized delusion,
1 part active hostility, 1 part non corroborated facts.
Add in believed-as-true conjecture,
Mixed with outright lies.
Stir liquid contents vigorously,
Until total frenetic vindictiveness has been achieved.

Serve well chilled with plentiful amounts of polarizing ice.

Serving size:
All who surrender their thoughts to the manipulation of close-minded,
Fanatical zealots imagining themselves as colonial-garbed super heroes.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions. Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles. It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Interview With Poet Jennifer C. Wolfe

I recently reviewed Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow: Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama by Jennifer C. Wolfe this week.  And I’ve had the delightful opportunity to ask the poet some questions about her collection and how it came to be.

Please welcome Jennifer:

1.  First, do you consider yourself a Democrat and how far do you lean to the left?  If not, what is your party affiliation and why?

I do not consider myself a Democrat.  I am officially registered as an “Independent” voter.  I do lean a bit left of center in some political areas, while a bit right of center on others.  I enjoy my official designation as an Independent, because I do not want to be tied down to any one party or party outlook.


2.  How long did it take you to amass this amount of poetry for a collection about the 2010 elections and the world it created in the United States?

It took me about three months to amass the amount of poetry for this collection; and the better part of a year, to bring it to print publishing fruition.  Whenever I needed to find new material, all I had to do was to either turn on CNN or FOX NEWS and soon my blood was boiling and my computer keyboard was frenetically being typed upon.

3.  Did you intend for these poems to read more like a diatribe against Republicans only or did you have a larger goal in mind?  And do you think you achieved your goal?

I primarily wanted the poems to read like a satirical diatribe against GOP dominance and arrogance, post Election 2010.  I also wanted it to have the larger goal of focusing scrutiny on every GOP platform and party officials I feel strongly about, including the Republicans’ meddling stepchild, the Tea Party.  The (so-called) “Grand Old Party” is not so grand; and I wanted this aspect to come through.  I do think I achieved my goal; although some readers might mistake some of my satirical material for straight criticism.


4.  How long have you considered yourself a poet and do your poems’ subjects always center on politics?  If so, what keeps you interested in politics to write about it consistently, especially given the apparent apathy inherent in American society with regard to elections?

I have always written poetry; however, I have considered myself a serious poet since 2008, when I earned my very first poetry credential—a poem “If” included within the Century College, White Bear Lake, MN literary magazine, Student Lounge.  I have had three political poetry eBooks published with BlazeVox Books, New York: Kick the Stones: Everyday Hegemony, Empire, and Disillusionment, October, 2008; Yukon Rumination: Great Fun for All in the Land of Sarah Palin’s Joe Sixpack Alaska, June, 2009; and Healing, Optimism, and Polarization, February, 2010, in addition to Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow: Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama.

What keeps me interested in consistently writing about politics is the fact that I feel I have something important to say.  My goal is to dissuade the apathy in American society with regard to elections.  That and to present political opinions that are from my heart.  I also have written non-political poetry, addressing everyday life scenarios.

5.  When writing poetry, prose, essays, and other works do you listen to music, do you have a particular playlist for each genre you work in or does the playlist stay the same? What are the top 5 songs on that playlist? If you don’t listen to music while writing, do you have any other routines or habits?

I do sometimes listen to music when I write, and when I do, the playlist is often as eclectic as the writing being undertaken.  I am mainly a rock, alternative rock, and heavy metal listener; and songs from all of these musical realms come into play.  I also listen to varied cable news TV channels, when I write on politics—searching for that tidbit of information or a concentrated story that will focus my thoughts.


6.  Do you see spoken word, performance, or written poetry as more powerful or powerful in different ways and why? Also, do you believe that writing can be an equalizer to help humanity become more tolerant or collaborative? Why or why not?

I see spoken word, performance, and written poetry as equally powerful mediums, in different ways.  Spoken word has a tremendous “go with the moment” mentality and it inspires with its often contagious enthusiasm.  Performance hones an individual’s poetry reading skills in a ways that make the words on the page come alive; while written poetry helps to define and clarify poetic aspirations in a private setting between the reader and the poetry being read.  I do believe writing can serve as an equalizer to help humanity become more tolerant and/or collaborative, because when an individual reads a story or a poem which becomes profound to them; it can often alter their mindset or attitude.


7.  What current projects are you working on and would you like to share some details with the readers?

Currently, I am working on a fictional novel entitled Far Beyond Driven that is part of a trilogy centering on a primary antagonist who works in intelligence.  The last book in the trilogy, The Five Words, was completed first and is currently being represented by Ms. Tracy Brennan of Trace Literary Agency.  The Five Words centers upon five friends and a five worded Internet prank gone awry to Homeland Security, told primarily in flashback by one of the friends who is testifying before a U.S. Senate Select Committee, looking into DHS civil liberties abuses.  Far Beyond Driven is the second book of the trilogy, as I work my way backward to the first novel, Fade Into Black.  All three novels tell the story of intelligence operative, Mark Graham and his psychological descent (spawned by personal tragedy) into an abusive monster, with too much U.S. “War on Terror” power in his hands.  All three works will be represented by Trace Literary Agency.  In addition, I also have completed an everyday life poetry manuscript, Reach for the Words, and am mulling the concept for a new non-political poetry manuscript, The Pain Behind the Smile.

Thanks, Jennifer, for answering my questions and for a highly discussable collection.

I would like to point out that Pantera, a heavy metal band, had an album called Far Beyond Driven; Perhaps she was inspired by their music one day when she was writing.

Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow: Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama by Jennifer C. Wolfe

Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow:  Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama by Jennifer C. Wolfe, published by BlazeVOX, is a satiric look at the government today following the Republican take over of the U.S. House of Representatives.  However, readers with staunch Republican beliefs who do not have a sense of humor about politics are NOT going to enjoy this volume and may even be angered by it.  On the other hand, Democrats will nod their heads in agreement, while Independents will nod, smirk, and disagree with certain aspects of these poems, which read more like prosaic diatribes.  More than anything, Wolfe has written a collection of poems to get the nation energized and talking politics, just in time for the upcoming 2012 elections (because you know that elections are now tackled at least 12 months in advance, if not more).

The Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas Pledge of Allegiance (page 42)

I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of our America,
And to the corporations, for which it stands,
One nation, under our thumb,
Poor invisible,
With liberty and justice, as dictated by the 5-4
Conservative majority of our Supreme Court.

As in the above poem, Wolfe twists well known moments and sayings from history and creates a new narrative to illustrate the “horrors” she sees happening in today’s government and society.  Vitriol drips from each line as she slices through the Republican rhetoric and policy to uncover the intentions of their decisions and desires.  Wolfe is clearly angered by the prominence of Fox News and Sarah Palin, but those are not her only targets.  George W. Bush, John Boehner, Tim Pawlenty, terrorism, and the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords garner equal attention from Wolfe’s sharp pen strokes.

She uses clear language, current events, rhyme, and repeating refrains to maintain the attention of the reader, especially as she nears the point in which she’s ready to slice political platforms to shreds.  There are no puzzles to unwind and the approach to politics is as aggressive as commentary from Bill O’Reilly.  From flip-flopping on Second Amendment issues to hidden agendas in policies, Wolfe calls attention to the rhetoric that covers up the truth.  For instance, why is China our ally if they continue to ship toxic toys, food, and other items to the United States?  Is it related to the fact that they own most of the national debt?

Overall Somewhere Over the Pachyderm Rainbow:  Living in an Elephant-Controlled 2010 Election Diorama by Jennifer C. Wolfe is a jumping off point for further conversation, but it will leave some readers wondering what the references refer to as they lose their immediate meaning and newer events replace those within these pages.  Luckily, the Internet will enable everyone to look up some of these references, though many will wonder if this is merely a collection by a leftist angered by the victory of the right in a political election and what it, if any, significance, it will have on the political arena.  Only time will tell how this collection impacts thinking and action into the future or if it will simply fade into the background like the many scandals among today’s political figureheads.  Taken in small chunks, readers will digest the barbs in these poems and hunger for the next course.

About the Poet:

Jennifer C. Wolfe grew up in Maplewood, Minn., and studied fiction writing and poetry at Century College in White Bear Lake. Mississippi. Wolfe has five previous publishing credentials: a poem “If” included within the Century College (White Bear Lake, MN) Spring 2008 Student Lounge literary magazine along with three poetry manuscripts, Kick the Stones: Everyday Hegemony, Empire, and Disillusionment published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, October 2008, Yukon Rumination: Great Fun for All in the Land of Sarah Palin’s Joe Sixpack Alaska, published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, June 2009, and Healing Optimism, and Polarization, published as an eBook by BlazeVOX Books, New York, February 2010, and two poems “St. Patrick’s Day” and “Roller Coaster,” published within the online edition of Scrambler Magazine, Issue 39, June 2010.

 

This is my 17th book for the Fearless Poetry Exploration Reading Challenge.

 

This is my 26th book for the 2011 New Authors Reading Challenge.