Saturday, September 13, 2008

Three reviews of new Covert Press releases by Jack Henry

…And Death is All Around Us
Michael Grover
Covert Press
34 pgs
available at www.covertpress.com
Review by Jack Henry

"And Death is All Around Us" is an amazing find.

When I read Michael Grover I am never sure what to expect. His words are often tough, angry, belligerent but always honest. In this text, a volume of poems dedicated to his grandmother and a memorial to her recent passing, Grover has gone beyond any expectation I could have had of him.

Not only is the poetry brilliant, it also contains every aspect I look for in a good poem. Heart. Soul. Vibrancy. Compassion. Emotion. Affectation. This is just a solid and complete collection of work.

From "Brushing Grandma's Hair."

"…Later at the dinner table
She speaks of having her hair brushed.
My father and I
Both say that we did it.
We look at each other realizing we've been
conned.
She just smiles knowingly."

This is just a brief glimpse of how important she was both to Michael and his father.

From "A Tough Month."

My father called me
Crying this afternoon.
Grandma went to the doctor,
She is not coming back out.
She is going to the hospice
Where they will prepare her to pass on."

Devastating lines that only dig deeper and deeper, examining the dark spaces that only a true poet can discover.

Michael Grover is also well known for his political points of view and his fearlessness in presenting them. I kept waiting and sure enough it hit, and in a fantastic way. Very sly and true, like a frying pan in the face.

"Huddle House" (Complete)

On the way to her funeral
Father and I stop
At the Huddle House in rural Georgia
We stop
Because it was one of her
Favorite places to eat

The food is greasy
And not so good
On the way out
On the bulletin board
A flyer that says
"Whites Only Party"
In big bold black letters

This is a phenomenal work and the quotes I use truly do not do the text justice. It's a strong, honest, emotional work, so get off your ass and buy this text.




Breaking the Hearts of Robots
Jason "Juice" Hardung
Covert Press
34 pgs
available at www.covertpress.com
Reviewed by Jack Henry

I know Juice.
I've met Juice.
And have heard him read.

Like Wayne Mason, I've never really read Juice.

"Breaking the Hearts of Robots" is an extraordinary volume of poetry. I have always considered Juice one of the best up and coming writers, one of those lions that's biting at an old mans tail and this chapbook does not disappoint.

To my surprise he includes three poems that I included in Heroin Love Songs. Of course, this honest admission will make the reader think that Jack Henry is a patsy to review this. Well fuck you too. If I didn't like it, I'd tell you, and I think Juice would appreciate that.

But I like this volume.

Very much.

One of the key poems in this text is "Sometimes Hamsters Eat Their Young." It is an exceptional poem, filled with a strong voice and tremendous heart. About the reflection of a lost mother as well as a childhood lost, "Hamsters" is revealing and affects any reader.

"…my blue eyes were crying
but not in the rain
in the doorway of our dream…"

"…She said she promised.
I had a hamster once
that had babies
and it chewed most of their heads off."

Amazing, stark and a damning write.

On the flip side is a reflection on fatherhood and its imprint on a child's development.

From "Nurtured Like a Cactus in a Single Man's Apartment."

"I didn't figure out that the shower curtain goes
on the inside of the tub
until I lived on my own
The floor was always wetter than me
and I was a newborn calf
doing splits
every time I tried to stand on my own
Now I just take baths"

Juice Hardung is a bright and honest writer. After a difficult childhood and challenges with substance abuse, he has turned into a powerful voice of a new generation of writers.

I highly recommend this volume.


Waiting for Magic
Wayne Mason
Covert Press
34 pgs
available at www.covertpress.com

I've heard of Wayne Mason, but I've never read Wayne Mason. Other than a few poems here and there, on line and elsewhere, the opportunity to sit and read a complete, however slim, is welcome.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Mason has a strong voice and sense of self within the context of his writing. Vivid, clear and well written, each poem seemingly unfolds a different facet of the writer's persona.

Strongly based in a blue collar work ethic, Mason brings the factory workers world to life.

In "Car Poem" Mason reveals the reality of a working persons life.

Standing over
massive guts
of my car
racing sunlight
to get the beast running
to haul me to work
one more day

Mason also reveals a more subtle, delicate side about being a father.

From "Comassionate Liar…"


"…And, now a father
I realize he was
making it up as
he went along

Like me"

This is a very strong book from a superb Dharma writer.

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