A cryptic and chaotic book of poems.A cryptic and chaotic book of poems.
A contemporary book of philosophical poetry by an American poet.
Savreux explores the underbelly of the human experience in this poetry collection. The poet begins by addressing “The downfallen, the homeless; the hungry; the jailed; / the jobless; the abused ones; the abusers who lost their / way; and those who are afflicted with illness, the ones / who are obscure but not behind an N95 mask or due / to covid but social invisibility” as well as “the people who look away,” (“Commencement of the Elegiac”) reminding them all to acknowledge the world’s humanity. Mortality is a recurring theme; in “A Syringe in a Vein,” the speaker proclaims that life is “but a syringe full of Death.” After contemplating baptism and burial, the speaker declares, “I want birds to eat me corpse while I lie rotting in a field” (“a.k.a Bathtub for Unclean Infantes”).The poet sprinkles in biblical teachings (if only to rebel against them) and religious musings: “The Pope breathes an unstained grave / Gathering the homeless playing harps / A fancy fantasy dumb utopian Raphael” (“A Crying Virgil”), and an impromptu painting session inspires thoughts about Eden. Sex is also a focal point; “Catalepsy & Fantasy Part I, II, & Redux” describes an affair with a captivating lover. Modern thinkers, like Noam Chomsky and Piaget, garner mentions; Barack Obama and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict also make appearances. After much darkness and heaviness, the poet concludes with a prescription for happiness, writing, “If you are sad, I recommend smiling” (“Yes, Smiles Expiate Like Good Medicine!”).
The average reader may find the poems in this collection difficult to follow. The verses are verbose, even Byzantine, with lines like “Gods of parsimony unite in a cosmic matrimony / Their goddesses give birth to infantile contemporaneity / and a man dies in contentment’s cradled antiquity” (“A Syringe in a Vein”). Inconsistent capitalization, the excessive use of exclamation points, and unpredictable rhyme schemes further disrupt the reading experience. The poems ape Old English but lack its elegance in poems like “Catalepsy & Fantasy Part I, II, & Redux”: “She is illogical, I am saintly, infirm & charm’d / But whence does this propensity eek to flow?” (the language turns vulgar: “I never had the balls to cum oil masterpieces”). A few poems seem downright unhinged, as in these lines from “Sunshine Beat Freestyle,” inspired by a Homer statue: “Make it true, the deaf and / the blind will hear and see again. / A Bazooka against DOOM! / Suicide is always DOOMED . . . . / HaHaHa.” Occasionally, the poet leans on cliches like “Time Destroys Us All. / Wisdom is wasted on the young; and Youth / is wasted on the Wise” (“Perfect & Grotesque”). Rarely, the poet deigns to drop in an image or sensory detail; when he does, they are refreshing and ground readers in the scenes of poems like “The Modern Desirous” (“barbarous boots they / kick off the snow”; “whistles of the New York / night”). Unfortunately, too much of the action takes place in the speaker’s head.
A cryptic and chaotic book of poems.A cryptic and chaotic book of poems.Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2022
ISBN: 9781958182246
Page Count: 74
Publisher: Spartan Press
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
For fans only.
The hoodie-and-shorts-clad Pennsylvania senator blends the political and personal, and often not nicely.
Fetterman’s memoir addresses three major themes. The first—and the one he leads with—is depression and mental illness, which, combined with a stroke and heart trouble, brought him to a standstill and led him to contemplate suicide. The second is his rise to national-level politics from a Rust Belt town; as he writes, he’s carved a path as a contentious player with a populist streak and a dislike for elites. There are affecting moments in his personal reminiscences, especially when he writes of the lives of his working-class neighbors in impoverished southwestern Pennsylvania, its once-prosperous Monongahela River Valley “the most heartbreaking drive in the United States.” It’s the third element that’s problematic, and that’s his in-the-trenches account of daily politics. One frequent complaint is the media, as when he writes of one incident, “I am not the first public figure to get fucked by a reporter, and I won’t be the last. What was eye-opening was the window it gave into how people with disabilities navigate a world that doesn’t give a shit.” He reserves special disdain for his Senate race opponent Mehmet Oz, about whom he wonders, “If I had run against any other candidate…would I have lost? He got beaten by a guy recovering from a stroke.” Perhaps so, and Democratic stalwarts will likely be dismayed at his apparent warmish feelings for Donald Trump and dislike of his own party’s “performative protests.” If Fetterman’s book convinces a troubled soul to seek help, it will have done some good, but it’s hard to imagine that it will make much of an impression in the self-help literature. One wonders, meanwhile, at sentiments such as this: “If men are forced to choose between picking their party or keeping their balls, most men are going to choose their balls.”
For fans only.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780593799826
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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