Halfway through Postmodern American Poetry, I still haven’t found a “radical” new poet that I’m particularly fond of, but I have found several poets with “spiritual” overtones that I like.
One of my favorites is Anselm Hollo, an instructor at the Naropa Institute. Hollo manages to combine a sense of spirit with a sense of humor, a delightful combination. Amazingly, I liked four of the six poems included. Here’s an example of his serious side:
SHED THE FEAR
Who has a face sees
the world,
but the world
is not
to be borne
or only
when seen as
another:
how did this
come together? How
did I find you?
So many turns
in the road
so few of them
possible!
How not to spin out
in hairpin turns
of disbelief
The Sufi martyrs
insisted
“The world
is a wedding.”
Why not
go with them.
in the face of
present carnage,
centuries
later.
I like that line “The world/ is a wedding” particularly when contrasted with the “present carnage;” it seems to capture the duality that is our world. I probably prefer this one, though:
GODLIKE
when you suddenly
feel like talking
about the times
in your life when you were
a total idiot asshole you resist
the impulse
& just sit there
at the head of the table
beaming.
Remind you of anyone you know? Hopefully the portrayal is nearly universal, if not, perhaps I should be more embarrassed than I was when I first read it.