David B. Prather, Shouting at an Empty House (Sheila-na-Gig Editions, 2023) 96 pages, poetry, $16.00. Order here.
David B. Prather is an accomplished Appalachian poet from Parkersburg, WV. This collection started reasonably well. It has some familiar and comfortable themes and images.
But it wasn't long before I realised my mind had largely disengaged. These poems are too familiar and comfortable. They have that expected MFA/Workshopped/I've-read-this-all-before-a-million-times feel. They also leave no room for the imagination. There is nothing left unsaid for the reader to interact with. And some stereotypical plays of manufactured empathy are clearly meant to elicit gasps of awe from the audience at a poetry reading without having any real emotional depth.
Therefore, when the occasional sparkling phrase manages to stand out from the page, it isn't enough to carry the entire collection.
If the current fashion of MFA/Workshop-approved poetry is your thing, this is your book. It is exactly everything that has been published in the last 20 years. Prather's author's bio reflects that. Call it PopPoetry. Clearly, a lot of people do appreciate it; particularly the people who decide what gets printed.
Personally, I'm bored with it.
