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Two Chapbooks by Spiel
Photo of writer:Spiel
reviewed by Tom Conroy
Perhaps Spiel means to shock us with his work, but he doesn't because he is too human.
His words, imagery and rhythm seduce even when they are ugly. The beauty of reading Spiel
is that you immediately feel that you your self had just thought and said his very words.
He has the capacity to take a very few words, or a single image, and make them a catalyst
for you own private explosion.
it breathes on its own
by Spiel
ISBN 1-58998-355-6
Pudding House Publications
www.puddinghouse.com
The cover design and page illuminations are stark and moving. They work well with each poem and
are done by the poet himself.
The Guest prolog poem by David Chorlton is preceded by Spiel's statement,
"if we all could disagree amicably, this world might be salvaged." And so the raucous,
rowdy, up and down ride through the poems commences.
"mania" is set in a hospital/clinic where the ward is one constant assault on the senses and the patient
is subjected to expectations and demands instead of being nurtured. The ambiance here is not pleasant:
"as they continue to appear relentless in their stirring/ their skunk perfumes the stink/ of gunpowder nearing you…"
"It" is set in a barn where the subject is a freak to the outside world but a king within his own.
The center of his gravity not the mind or heart, but rather the groin:
"he wrapped his thighs/ around the jar/ and closed his eyes/ and felt a surging…"
The pace does not let up as we move on to "it's walls that keep my chair." And the sense of bizarre settles
in to a world that makes sense because we know it well. This is because the imagery is so realistic and emotions
so tender. We realize that walls and size of a place define but do not limit us. Old age is supported by known
limits or just playing the right instrument really well:
"my walls are what stand straight for me."
"andy" speaks of young love, unconsummated, that echoes painfully later when the other
has taken his own life. It ends with a sardonic note that doesn't detract from the opening lines
and their emotion, but only shows the power of the life force behind the poet:
"…he/ probably let other guys touch his leg maybe more."
"red shirt purring" deals with near death and the feeling of desertion when the psychiatrist
is not available to help deal with the situation. When he mentions a contract not to kill
himself that the psychiatrist offers for his signing, one has the urge to laugh out loud.
Both at the situation and at the humor of the poet who ends it with:
"and why make a mess of it."
This collection is full of love, sensuality and humor. Yes, it "breathes on it own" because
it calls upon an inner strength and an ability to exercise humor with exquisite timing.
COME HERE COWBOY: poems of war
by Spiel
ISBN 1-58998-446-3
Pudding House Publications
www.puddinghouse.com
This is about war and about peace and about how both affect and shape life. It pays homage
to the warriors who innocently and dutifully respond to the clarion call from their country
and its leaders. But more importantly, it calls to account the leaders who needlessly send
these warriors into a hell storm for invalid reasons.
"come here cowboy come here" is the most brilliant and direct anti war poem of our time.
And nails the current situation accurately. When you get to the last stanzas you are standing
on your feet and demanding at the top of your voice that George Bush get on his knees and beg
the forgiveness of all humanity. Of course, Spiel does it in his usual economy of words but
in images that immediately expand, once read, into a reaction that is much larger than the
page or any book could be.
"Markers" shows the futility of perfection in a world of mayhem:
"…his/ teeth showing no significant/ identification markers."
"Bad things/ Good things" asks a prescient question of the current president-'how can you rail
against abortion while you send thousands of the already living to violent death?'
"Never expect always" is a simple and sad story. A woman who has waited sixty years as the love
who went off to war never returns:
"Never expect the spoils of your sacrifice."
This is a very tight collection that stretches in all directions while holding on to a single theme.
And this is - why can't we disagree amicably? I'd say it's because most of us are not as human as this poet.
Spiel was 6 months old when the dark years of WWII were unleashed. He was 50 and in psychotherapy
when it dawned on him the fear present in his parent’s bodies at that time of unprecedented upheaval surely must
have had a profound affect on him. His chapbook, “come here cowboy: poems of war,” released by Pudding House
Publications in the fall of 2006, focuses on how wars, stretching from WWI to today’s aggressive territorial
hostilities, have imprinted his life and writing. A candid "TLOLP Interview with Spiel" may be found online at:
The League Of Laboring Poets, and another very revealing "Charles Ries Interview with Spiel" in Issue
#17 of www.laurahird.com where his work and influences are showcased.
Tom Conroy is the editor at The League of Laboring Poets
Email: Spiel
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