Smoking Lovely [Paperback]

Willie Perdomo (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Given, on the one hand, the oral roots of poetry, and on the other, exponentially improving and cost-effective sound reproduction, the modernist breech between page and stage is finally starting to close. Trying to reproduce the live energy, exchange and affect of the "spoken word" solely on the page is an enterprise doomed from the start; rather than CD's acting as "extras," such books-plus-discs should be seen as recorded poetry with lyric sheets. In the case of Perdomo, a veteran slam poetry performer and author of Where a Nickel Costs a Dime, making the psychic shift whereby the CD becomes the primary document makes for a transformative "reading" experience. There is no notation, or at least not one as powerful, for Perdomo's pitch-perfect intonations, subtle affective sarcasms, and mellifluous code switchings and bilingualisms. Ditto the lightning-fast enjambments that help make Perdomo's performances so effective-lost in transcription. It is often the more punctuated prose sections that most effectively accompany Perdomo's spoken text, reminding the reader how much so many spoken-word artists have had to overcome in order to be heard at all: "I wanted to play this like Petrarch and bless you with a/ suite of sonnets. But I can't rock sonnets, so I thought/ I would write you 100 letters for 100 days, but I'm getting/ discharged tomorrow morning, so I'll say what I need to/ say on the back of this Patient Bill of Rights." Perdomo is a necessary and insistent voice in the current American literary scene, one that here forwards a hybrid medium in which his-and perhaps those of other spoken-word artists-experiences can be properly presented to a larger public. Shelve this record like a book.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 68 pages
• Publisher: Rattapallax Press (January 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892494612
• ISBN-13: 978-1892494610
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smoking it is!, April 20, 2004

By 

ZK (DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoking Lovely (Paperback)

It is great when someone has the ability to take their experiences of life and put them on page to be explored by the world. This book talks the breath and life of growing up in the NYC and being a minority. The struggle, pain and love for his New York enviornment of urban struggle, pride and triumph is all displayed throught "Smoking Lovely". This book is good for those wanting to learn how to craft experiences into great prose.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Word to Everything I Love, April 11, 2004

By 

Truth Thomas (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoking Lovely (Paperback)

When Willie Perdomo wrote, "The Notes for a Slow Jam - I wanted to play this like Petrarch and bless you with a suite of sonnets. But I can't rock sonnets, so I thought I would write you 100 letters for 100 days," it was over for me. I had to call up a friend, read the entire piece and just say, "damn." If poetic skill could be equated to narcotic potency, Willie Perdomo's Smoking Lovely would be an illegal substance. He is phenomenal poet, the epitome of Nuyorican poetry, blending Spanish and English metaphors seamlessly, with a singularity and power that is halting. Often in the world of Spoken Word poetry, what sounds good does not translate with equal prowess to paper. Willie Perdomo is master of both page and stage, evidencing the beauty and majesty that is born when great writing weds great performance.
His metaphoric world reflects images of violence and humor, love and stink, drug abuse, prison and overcoming. Everything that is New York City sweet and sour is delivered with honesty. A CD that accompanies the book, read by the author, is an added bonus, offering an even more intimate view into the Perdomo poetic window. There are no music tracks to camouflage or hide behind. None are needed, as his verse alone seizes ears. In one poem he writes, "...there's a disco ball spinning starlight on the New Boogaloo." I write, the spinning starlight is Willie Perdomo's talent, and the New Boogaloo is Smoking Lovely.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars La Voz Verdadera, April 12, 2004

By 

Melanie H. (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoking Lovely (Paperback)

Willie Perdomo is "la voz" for a part of society that is under represented in the world of published literature. His range is broad as he paints the gruesome faces of crack addicts that drag the neighborhood pavement like zombies to the cream-laced words of bedtime seduction to the shameless honesty of the faithful blind patron of the Nuyorican Cafe. No matter the arena, political, social, or economic, he handles any topic with the same frank manner, delicate imagery, powerful clinchers that hits you in the heart of your compassion's home.

The title piece is particularly strong. He uses few words, but the few words he selects accurately depict the awful irony of a life devoted to drugs. The addict is devoted to his narcotic and is deemed to be "Smoking Lovely." Perdomo's gritty description of him shows there's nothing lovely about his appearance, his reality or his addiction.

"Smoking Lovely" is a collection of street-life, city-life, broken home-life sagas. Yet, it's not begging for pity in any way whatsoever. He's simply telling a story and dares you to comprehend the emotional, psychological, and physical hardships of his characters. Perdomo just paints it like it is. Besides, if there's a grain of humanity in you, you'll be shaking your head mildly from left to right in empathy (not sympathy) throughout the collection. "Smoking Lovely" is a more than worthwhile read!