Reviews
Optimism
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" hidde 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 ut 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.
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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
Review by Mr. R. J. Dowell (Milton Keynes, UK)
Like all intelligent reading, it sometimes takes time to absorb the message. I read this book over a period of 2 months, taking my time to appreciate both the way it was laid out and the meaning locked in many of the poems. It is strange how just a few words can release old memories that have been kept prisoner in my mind for all these years.
Peter Dabbene not only uses words and pictures to tell poetry, he also uses word layout, evoking memories and empathies in his prose. Some modern poetry gets lost in its own importance, and tries to be too clever, but that is not the case with this book. I found that just letting the words wash over me was a very interesting experience and lead me to stop half way through some poems just to enjoy a memory.
I especially enjoyed the poem 'Snake (or SSS)' for its imaginative layout, the way it slithers down the page. Other poems used combinations of words that, to put it simply, 'Hit the nail on the head', catching you unaware and filling your mind with images that aided in the poetries intent. The use of photos throughout the pages, helped anchor the poems and gave them context.
Everything about this book says 'coffee table poetry book', and in that it delivers, giving the reader something different, something that makes them think. Dip in, read, enjoy, and mull over all those thoughts and memories that will surely surface as a result.
I highly recommend this book to all those out there who are looking for a thought provoking and intelligent read.
Review by Sue Lange (New York, NY United States)
First and foremost this is a poetry book. It's a coffee table book, sure, but the poetry is the main thing here. The photographs are great and they definitely add to the mood, but they are not the main thing. Most coffee table poetry books feature the photos which are related in theme. The text sets off the photos. The opposite is true here. The poems, in fact, stand alone. They are complete in themselves.
It's a fine collection of well-written poetry that speaks of the ordinary, elevating it to the extraordinary. Small moments are given the time they deserve but never get. These moments are easily recognized. They are found in each of our lives, but rarely do we appreciate them. Dabbene appreciates such things as curb furniture, old ladies stealing market fruit, dogs that kill bunnies, loners in bars, the fear we have of teenagers, marriage annulment, guys that play basketball on weekends, the moon, books, the letter s, Pluto, Catholic mass, black socks and babies before they are born, babies when they grow up and go away, comets.
The list is much longer, or course, there's a lot of poetry in the volume, but you get a good idea of what goes on in Dabbene's life: the same things that go on in your own life. It's all very recognizable and yet, unusual at the same time.
The work is accessble, but not cliche. It's lovely, neither trite, nor esoteric. Some of it is downright sublime:
Teething
So difficult to watch, helpless
as pearl-white nubs burrow through tender
gumlines, wreaking havoc, provoking tears
So difficult to whisper soothing tones
and promise assurances during this, the
first of many pains I cannot protect against
My favorite poem is Ode to Philip Glass. I like it because if Philip Glass' music was a physical entity it would look like this poem does on the page. Dabbene captured the spirt of the man's music perfectly.
Downside of this book. It's expensive. But then, it's filled with expensive photographs and priceless poems.
Glossolalia
Glossolalia
By Peter Dabbene
Xlibris Corp (March 2, 2005)
ISBN 1413479014
www.peterdabbene.com
Order online:
http://www.peterdabbene.com/books.htm
Review by Sue Lange (New York, NY United States)
Peter Dabbene is a funny guy. His subtle sense of humor shows in this collection of well written short stories. Consider the name of the book: Glossolalia, which means speaking in tongues. Some people consider glossolalia to be nothing but meaningless drivel, others believe it's a holy language, understood only by the enlightened. Dabbene's work might very well be understandable only by the enlightened; there's a lot of stuff here, sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't.
The first part of the book, the Glossolalia section, is a good example. Each story is a parody of a famous something or other. The first, The Last Detective Story, is an homage to, or teardown of, Raymond Chandler. The detective here is named Philip Marlowe, but it's not the Philip Marlowe we know. This Philip Marlowe is a new detective that changed his name to Philip Marlowe because Marlowe is his idol. He's a down-on-his-luck private dick, trying to make his way in a world that no longer needs him. Surveillance is done now with new techniques and the Internet. You know longer need to hoof it around town to do research, but that's the kind of detective work our Marlowe does. Our Marlowe is living in an office in Manhattan and he drinks a lot. He's broke but finally gets a contract to find a missing heiress. Someone young and pretty. Against all odds in a city of 7 million, Marlowe bumps into her in a record store and they fall in love. Sound familiar? The Last Detective Story is not so much about Philip Marlow as it's about Raymond Chandler and the rules of detective stories. Well done!
Like the Marlowe story, the others in this section seem to be channeling some icon of our literary heritage. But exactly what they are isn't always obvious to me. `Mother Russia" feels like Judith Merrill's "Only a Mother." The Houdini story has a character named Steven Crane. What does that mean? What's the connection? "The Man Who Cried Death" feels like a Poe story, but I'm not sure why. Only until we get to the final story in the section, "Metmorphosized" which is so clearly a Kafka do is it obvious that each of the stories has something to do with some classic of literature. But it's up to you to figure it out. It's not obvious.
These stories all have a knowledge of, or maybe allegiance to, pop culture, past and present, and its place in our modern lives. We have stories of Houdini, Orthodontia, World War II, the Russian version of Mickey Mouse, hemmorhoids, Ikea, and a fabulous set of three that take place around the time of W's second election called The Rocklester Files. They're columns written by one Rocklester Chase, Republican Party cheerleader. Hilarious.
Dabbene is at his peak with the parody in the story "Sirs," a Mad Magazine romp starring superheroes Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Ian McKellan, Sean Connery, Ben Kingsley, Paul McCrtney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Billy Graham, Rudy Giuliani, Steven Spielburg, and some guy named Louis Gerstner. They're all knights, even the Americans, hence the name of the story. Their mandate? Battling deadly movie set crime such as the directing style of that no-good baddie Robert Altman. They go about their super heroing using aliases created from characters they've played or written songs about. For instance Michael Caine is "Alfie," Ben Kingsley is "Ghandi," and Mick Jagger is "Devil." Since Giuliani isn't a TV, movie, or rock personality, his alias is "Rudy." It's a very funny send-up of superhero stories and mass culture schmaltz, lampooning the people we idolize because they bring us this crap.
Glossolalia contains modern stories about modern life and our cultural icons. Our icons say a lot about us and they shape us. Dabbene does a great job of saying a lot about our icons.
Excellent work.
