by Charles SimicI'm not exactly sure what I want to say about Charles Simic and this collection of poems. It is almost embarrassing how much I like his work. As always, the more I like something the less I want to talk about it because it's more revealing somehow than talking about things that are merely pleasant. However, since this is a new year and a new page and all that jazz I am going to try. He's dark, cranky, kind, weird, oddly optimistic, insomniac, creepy, genius (he even got the genius grant, so I'm not just being hyperbolic), funny and sexy. Sexy, I tell you! But let's get back to the insomnia... There's a sleepless logic that permeates many of the poems in this collection (or dream logic, which seems like it should be the opposite of sleepless logic, but isn't). He speaks directly to the things that lurk in the heart or hide under the bed; not agreeing to ignore (as so many of us do) the strange happenings that are just out of view when one is awake. That alone wins me over, but to top it off he does it with such style, grace, wit, spiky charm and insane black humor that I am helpless. Other poems (besides the one below) that caught my attention in this collection were Kazoo Wedding, Sweetest, and Minds Roaming. I should say those are the ones that leapt out at me as I leafed through this collection right now. If I did it again in an hour it could be five different selections.
Midnight Feast
for Michael Krüger
Snowflake and laughter salad.
Cuckoo-clock soup.
Andouillettes of angel and beast.
Bowlegged nightingale in aspic.
Peep-show soufflé.
Fricassee of Cupid with green peas.
Roasted bust of Socrates with African postage stamps.
Venus in her own gravy.
Wines of graveyard lovers--
Or so I read in a take-out menu
Someone slid under my door
While I sat staring at the wall.
OK. So poetry is not something I tend to enjoy, unless it is Dorothy Parker written, I reserved this book. I am often visited by insomnia like an unwelcome relative so it could be different, I am thinking. Anything to get these voices out of my head would be quite welcomed. Not literally, of course. Not that that is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteYou still may not like it, but I'm glad you're going to give him a try. He's one of the best (IMHO). And he DOES speak of insomnia with authority. (although he may just add voices to the ones you already hear. always a danger...)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE SIMIC!!! And I've been casually trolling his volumes as part of my title search. He really is one of the best of the Dark Night of the Soul guys, isn't he?
ReplyDeleteA Simic-inspired title would be a wonderful thing! (how attached are you to the title making rational daytime sense?)
ReplyDeleteHe really, really is one of the best DNotS poets, although I like reading him all the time.
irrational is good. still searching...
ReplyDeleteI will put my irrational thinking cap on. (it is very stylish, but absurd.)
ReplyDelete