Customer Reviews

Fog Slow To Clear

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Having been a long-time fan of Mr. Morrison in his work as an actor and playwrite, I was eager to read his poetry. I don't think I fully understood most of the poetry and so could not fully appreciate it. I tend to read poetry as I read prose (EA Poe was my favorite).

However my friend the therapist, who has a fine appreciation for poetry, loved all of it. Her favorite poem was, CHROMATURITY.

My favorite was, THE NEWS, which spoke to me about issues close to my heart. My other favorite was, WHITE NOISE, which I found to be emotionally and sensually evocative.

The poem I hated was, MAKING A PROFIT. I felt disgusted and turned off after reading it the first time. I didn't like that *my* James Morrison (who is probably nothing like the real James Morrison) could live a life that could produce such a poem. So actually, I guess, that was one of my favorites, too.

As for the famed potty words, I am embarrassed to say, I had to re-read the book several times before I could discern them. They didn't jump out at me.

The prose monologues were great. They took me away from myself, to feel the world through the eyes of people who were alien to me.

I am familiar with Mr. Morrison's work as an actor, director and playright. I enjoyed his first foray into the medium of poetry and prose very much. Poetry is, probably more than any other type of work, intensely personal and subjective. Those reading it must remember that they are looking through a window into the thoughts, and possibly the very soul, of the author. While I can't say I understood each and every poem in this collection, they all made me think. Those dealing with personal relationships, with love, with being a parent evoked the most response as they are universal concepts with which we can all identify. I look forward to Mr. Morrison's next project with enthusiasm.

I recently purchased this book, largely because the reviews seemed to unfairly to focus so much on the author's work as an actor when reviewing his poetry. I am glad I bought it. I found the poems to be very well-crafted, sometimes disturbing, and filled with images so beautiful that I envied his ability to compose them.

I have spent a good part of my adult life (I will soon be 49) in a love affair with poetry. I've learned that the words that compose a poem, including four-letter words people may find offensive, should weave together to form a powerful/moving/exquisite/upsetting, etc., experience for the reader. In fact, if the poet weaves well, the words should acquire a meaning deeper than their individual, dictionary or common usage definitions. Mr. Morrison weaves very well indeed. His poetry does what I expect of good poetry - it makes me think about both the whole poem and the meaning of the words that compose that whole.

Poetry is also intensely personal. It will always be somewhat self-focused because the poet is trying to communicate his or her experiences and understanding to the reader through the poem. It works when the poet can transform that personal, private understanding into an experience that the reader can access and translate into or equate to an equally personal, private experience. Successful poetry, such as Mr. Morrison writes (including the prose poems in the book), challenges the reader to work both intellectually and emotionally for that access.

I like the hard bargain Mr. Morrison drives with his reader. If I wanted immediate gratification, I would head for the greeting card section at the local drugstore. Instead, I choose to add this book to books of modern poetry I read again and again. I hope Mr. Morrison writes and publishes more poems. I look forward to reading them and to a further challenge to bring his understanding of what it means to be human into my own.

I found most of the work in the book to be..fine. A few of the poems however, were exceptional. MAKING A PROFIT [p.49], DEATH ON VINE [p.13]and THE SHRINE [p.24] (which evoked an immediate and none to flattering response to the authors apparent ego), were well worth the cost of the book. A collection of poetry and prose is a grab bag of thoughts and emotions, and if you are very, very lucky, visual imagery which allows you to see through anothers eyes. There are some throw away poems and prose mixed in with the valuable. Hold onto the treasures you will find and as you do with the contents of most grab bags, just let the other go. But then again, I'm a "hick from the sticks,what do I know?"

There were a number of the pieces that I didn't like, including the *few* that had profanity, but there were others that *really clicked*, and there is no way that I could say that this man has no talent. So I'll average it out and put it somewhere in the middle. As for egos, do not all poets put something of themself on the page?

The journey of a man who not only experiences life but observes, thinks, and writes about it. Each time I read both poems and prose I glean more insight, whether into the author's life or my own is unsure. A thought-provoking work that will have a prominent place in my library. I look forward to further publications by James Morrison.