Customer Reviews

Hapax: Poems

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

 

 

A.E. Stallings' poetry appeals first and foremost to the ear of the reader. It lands in the ear and travels to the heart and mind. This is not to say that intellectual or emotional force is a secondary consideration, only that these are the most wonderful sounding poems you are going to find from a contemporary writer.

This is, quite simply, the best book of poetry that I have read in a long, long time. Indeed, it is one of the best books of any kind.

If you read poetry regularly you should buy this book. If you don't, you should still buy it. Why? This is what all writing, poetry or otherwise, should aspire to be.

I've been waiting for a new collection by Stallings almost from the moment I finished reading her first book Archaic Smile. Clearly I've lost track of time, University of Evansville Press published Archaic Smile over five years ago, and I can remember buying that book at Open Books as if it was yesterday. For that matter I remember picking up the copy of Poetry in the temporary Central Library and reading 'The Dogdom of the Dead' for the first time. I must have re-read that poem twenty times standing there.

Anyway, enough about me, Hapax (and Archaic Smile) are must-haves. Hapax is 50 poems covering a wide range of subjects. The cover art is beautiful. I'm disappointed that it's paperback and not hardcover, but maybe that's an excuse to make a hardcover for it yourself. Stallings' poems are widely available online, just google her to check out some of her work if you haven't read it before.

Stallings studied classics (or is it Classics) and could be called, in fact is called in the Amazon.co.uk review, a master of form, but I feel her poems go beyond form, beyond refreshing form and making it relevant. Stallings has the skills, something to say, and is the real deal. Let me put it this way: Stallings kills it nearly every time, and if the U.S. government spent our billions on talented and masterful poets instead of guns and ammunition the world would be a better place and Stallings would be a millionaire. Perhaps that's a long-range plan. In the short term buy these books, you'll be glad you did.

The line above is a deadly epitaph from "Arrowhead Hunting" on page 13. Let it not be yours! Even if you despise poetry, buy Hapax now. At the very least it will pay your grandchildren's college tuition. Alicia Stallings uses her wicked gift for rhyme and rhythm, a classicist's store of beautiful words, and a deep, generous Southern sensibility to write universal poems. Every line harmonizes with something someone did or said 300 or 3000 years ago, and the result is ancient myths retold more vivid and moving than our own lives.

Thank the gods for A.E. Stallings. As strong as her first book was, Hapax demonstrates an expanded range and a strengthened grasp of form. I happily await her next book. Individual poems I've seen in magazines promise a great new collection.

Rhyme is not dead. In fact, A.E Stallings rhymes are so smooth, and flawlessly structured that sometimes you don't even notice they're there. With a mixture of Greek Myth, the Underground and modern daily quirks, this collection is a must read. Wow. One of the best poets out there.

Favorite poems: Song for the Women Poets & Ultrasound.

_Hapax_ is a nice book of poetry, but it will not become a classic anytime soon. If you love poetry, you won't be wasting your time reading this collection.