"An arrow of grief quivering through the sky."

(Apologies for the delay, this post was meant to go out yesterday, but due to technical difficulties is arriving today!)

Good evening blog connoisseurs!

This week I've been indulging in a little bit of poetry, as thanks to an American friend of mine I've been informed it's National Poetry Month in the old US of A. Perhaps appropriately, it's an American poet I've been indulging in. The book of poems in question is called The Endarkenment by Jeffrey McDaniel.

Barnes & Noble (fair use policy)

"My demons / will be the fittest / demons of all." (Exercising my Demons)

McDaniel is a poet I discovered around the same time as I discovered Mark Bibbin; I was influenced by both of them in my own work, and owe them both a huge debt. This collection in particular is, I think, one of my favourite works of recent poetry.

Anyone familiar with 18th century thinking will notice the title's play on the 'Age of Enlightenment', when people first began using things such as logic and reason, and focusing more on science and knowledge rather than religion, for example. Before we even reach the contents page we come across an artificial dictionary definition of "endarkenment", a very witty piece somewhat satirising the modern idea that we're better because of our knowledge, particularly in American culture. However, while Bibbins is particularly satirical of his government and the resulting controversies, McDaniel criticises the general malaise in society. That moment when we realise we can't all be supermodels and actors and famous, and some of us must be average; but rather than feeling jaded, he celebrates those everyday things in a way that makes them exciting and extraordinary.

His imagery is fantastic, ranging from the dark and surreal (Meditations on the Death Penalty) to the uplifting yet heart-wrenchingly honest (Day 4305) and back to the melancholy (The Pool), right back to the witty and amusing (Boner Etiquette). He goes from questioning God (Confessions of a Flawed Deity, The Soul Farmer) to questioning how a pervert is supposed to survive with modern technology (Heavy Breather Zoo). All of these poems are contradictions of each other, but unified in a way that they're all searingly honest, passionate, and beautifully written.

McDaniel strikes something which is very difficult to achieve; the right amount of ambiguity. He's ambiguous enough to make you wonder and question the words on the page, but not so much so that you get frustrated and storm off (casting your book casually into a bin as you do so). I struggled to understand this concept when a poetry lecturer tried to explain it to me, but I think I'm getting it now. It makes you want to reread the poems several times to try and understand them; each time you're a little bit successful, but you still want to go back again to get even more.

pennstatelive

"But who the hell am I? I'm just the spark from two people / who rubbed their genitals together like sticks in a forest / one October night because they were cold." (The Endarkenment)

I highly urge you to pick up this book; if you love poetry, you'll love McDaniel's juxtapositions, wordplay, imagery, humour and pathos. If you've never read poetry before in your life, you'll love McDaniel's juxtapositions, wordplay, imagery, humour and pathos. It's available here on Amazon for about £12-13 if you'd like to buy it (you should!). Also, anyone who read last week's post on Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis, that is available here for about £6. From now on, if possible I will let you know where to buy things I talk about rather than just telling you to buy them. Aren't I good to you?

Now, as some of you might know, last Monday, the 23rd, was World Book Night. I went to an event at Waterstones and had lots of fun, enjoyed some good company and made new friends, and got my hands on a few free books. Who needs a free lunch when you can get books for taking part in a quiz (and coming second, go team British Sausage Roll!).

One of these is Christopher Brookmyre's All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye. The only information I have regarding this book is what I can gather from the blurb (seemingly an old lady who becomes a crime-fighter/spy) and one of the Waterstones staff telling me it was hilarious. So. I've decided I'm going to attempt to read it in a week and let it be my blog next week. I'll let you know how I manage, but regardless of my progress you'll get something!

I'll leave you with a link to this website I recently rediscovered. Originally stumbling across it in my teens through the animation to an acoustic version of Radiohead's song 'Creep', I soon came to enjoy it's very interesting style of animation. Slightly morbid and depressing, but incredibly creative and definitely worth checking out! Hope you enjoy, I'll see you next week.

~ Toby