Customer Reviews

FLICKERS

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Muhammad Ali and his "rope a dope", Karl Wallenda's fateful last trip across the high wire, and Gorgeous George's escapades in the ring are all part of this fascinating collection of poems by William Trowbridge. Images from the silver screen and TV mix with insights into life; reflections of today as seen through the slightly skewed perception of Hollywood creating images ingrained in our imaginations and unleashed for inspection through Trowbridge's insight. Stan and Ollie cavort as representatives of sex and anger confronted by authority; the "magma landscape" of the shoe exhibit at the Holocaust museum, and Michael's kiss of death for his brother Fredo are some of the images that Trowbridge uses as a base for his word play.
There are also a number of trips into Trowbridge's personal life, childhood remembrances and painfully examined relationships with aged parents that allow you into the true wonder of what well written poetry can accomplish; a truth and emotion that only poetry can convey.
The only misfires here are the series of poems featuring The Glad's, a sort of pseudo suburban family that seems more than a bit heavy handed in its attempt at satire. But the poems that work are truly memorable and will stay with you for a long time.