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Upcoming Event:

 

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 7.00 p.m.   

Solley Theater in Princeton, NJ   |    FREE   |    Sponsored by Bloomberg

Peter Dabbene reads "Baby Einstein: World Animals: A Retrospective Review." 

 

Come rediscover the pleasure of listening to stories read aloud. Listen to several writers from the Princeton area read or perform a variety of imaginative and original short fiction, nonfiction, memoir and dramatic pieces. Each work is under 10 minutes in length. Presented by the Princeton Arts Council in collaboration with the Princeton Public Library. Link to Paul Robeson Center for the Arts calendar..

 

Recent Review:

Optimism
By Peter Dabbene
Copyright 2009 Peter Dabbene
ISBN 978-0-578-04116-2
www.peterdabbene.com
Order online:
http://www.peterdabbene.com/books.htm

Review by LB Sedlacek

In this poetry collection by Peter
Dabbene, there's a treat -- somewhat
reminiscent of "Easter Eggs" hidden
in DVDs -- in that he uses a photographic
illustration, graphic whatever you
want to call it (I like art, I love
modern art but I'm not an artist)
at the end of each poem. These
pictures serve to add a visual
punctuation to the poem maybe
punching up the title or a
particular theme, verse or line.
I have to admit once I started
reading his poetry book I looked
forward to the end of the poem to
see what visual piece would follow
it. The blend of words and visuals
is nothing new but how it is
presented and how the words are
represented is somewhat of a
balancing act between the two forms.
You don't want to over illustrate
the poem so that the reader feels
like they are being led to a
conclusion and at the same time
you don't want to point the reader
in the wrong direction. Dabbene
seems to have carefully chosen his
visual props, so to speak, and they
work well with each poem.



For "Notes on a Story Never
Written" a carriage typewriter
is used as the visual key. For
"Coleridge, Awake (The Memory of
Dreams)" there's a newsprint
article including "Xanadu." For
"Waiting to Laugh at the Movie
Trailer Joke" and "Out of the
Movie House" there's a surreal
shot of an empty movie theater.

 

But there's more to this poetry
book than what's in the photos.
The poem "Shh" is an image filled
striking poem using only one word
per line. "Time Capsules (The
Secret Function of Books)" talks
of the things people are likely
to keep in books, a potent look
at memories and maybe daily
reminders of the book owner's
life. "No More Black Socks" is
a somewhat humorous take on not
wearing black socks anymore
correlating the donning of them
as necessary for a serious
responsible working man.

"Optimism" is a buoyant poetry
book, communicating the author's
observations and experiences.
It is a fresh portrayal of every
day and not so every day encounters.

From "Extinct":
"I would not feel threatened
but for their sake//
Blonde hair and blue eyes, killed
by weak genes, now found only in
kits and foreigners/ Rotary dial
telephones, holed up in old houses
like fugitives and shut-ins/
Saturday morning cartoons, victims
of bloodless coups by political
roundtables/ What I would give
to feel again// the thrill of
exploring/ VHF and UHF/
exotic and mysteriously static…"

From "A Dream"
In my dream,/
I am running//
Alongside me is every dog we've
ever owned/ Their tongues flapping
out the sides of their mouths/
I watch them run, and smile/
My private flock, my private
stock of best friends/
With no leashes and no fences…"

Peter Dabbene has also published
two story collections, "Prime
Movements" and "Glossolalia"as well
as a novel, "Mister Dreyfus' Demons."

_________________________________________
LB Sedlacek's poems have appeared
in such publications as "Manorborn,"
"MamaZine," "Audience Magazine,"
"Skive Magazine," and "Poetry Monthly."
http://www.myspace.com/lbsedlacek
http://twitter.com/lbsedlacek

 

Other Recent Highlights:

 

Angermiller, Michele. "His book of poetry is a collaboration with 42 photographers in 8 countries" [an interview with Peter Dabbene]. The Times of Trenton, December 26, 2009.

 

“Tributary” – new short story published in the Winter 2008-2009 issue of Philadelphia Stories: http://www.philadelphiastories.org/tributary

 

August 21, 2008: Character sketches from the upcoming graphic novel Ark: http://ryanbayliss.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post.html

 

 

 

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