Spoken Word Review: Michael C. Ford's "Look Each Other in the Ears"

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on June 29, 2014)

"Look Each Other In The Ears" is the latest Spoken Word offering by Grammy-nominated poet Michael C. Ford. At 74 years old, Ford has had a long, thrilling career as a poet and all that experience comes to bear on this album.

Ford often reminisces about the by-gone days of Los Angeles and that makes his poetry very location-specific. Not having ever been to L.A. made it difficult to conjure the images he clearly means to draw upon. But the spirit of the poems is clear. These are dark meditations on the negative aspects of "progress" and suburban squalor. Ford certainly has the deep-seated anger and discontent common to contemporary poets. We are taken along through the L.A. of his youth and its deterioration through time in a way that is both very straight-forward and layered with multiple meanings. He rails against the loss of orange groves and the building of cookie-cutter housing developments, the growing disrespect for the arts and poetry in particular, and against his own profession as a Spoken Word artist. In one poem, he goes on a trip to Mars to escape modern American life only to find Mars has its own version which causes him to de-evolve - an interesting commentary on how Ford sees the world. My favorite line on the album is in the fourth track, "I Don't Wanna Go (Said The Suicide)":

"We stand on the bridge with John Berryman; but we relinquish our inclination to jump and it has nothing to do with religion; it is simply, as we grow older we discover there's not that much left to kill!"

The second half continues with the themes of environmental destruction and general decay but takes on a decidedly more political element. The eighth track, "(Autobiography of) An American Bomb", is unsettling but not as jarring as the Christmas jingle turned into "Halliburton's cashing in" in the next track, "Wartime Carol (Bringing The War Back Home)". The final track, "Float Of Drive (Triple Bypass)" seems to attempt to transcend the grimy negativity of the rest of the album by introducing rain. Rain makes music wherever it falls, no matter how miserable the surroundings. This is an effective metaphor for poets. As the track progresses, however, we feel that transcendence ultimately fails until we come to the final word: "over". This is pronounced in such a way as to suggest that, finally, Ford is over it all.

All this darkness is well counter-balanced by the music on the album. This music was mainly made by the surviving members of The Doors - John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek. In fact, it is one of the last recordings made by Ray Manzarek prior to his death on May 20, 2013. To support Ford's clear, enunciated performance, these men went back to their jazz roots. They were accompanied on various tracks by a full list of musicians and vocalists. Most notable of these were those who wrote the choruses and bridges: Tommy Jordan of the band Geggy Tah with Harlan Steinberger. There is even a moment of delicious scatting. The result is a light, airy, funky vibe that carries the heaviness of the lyrics perfectly.

All in all, this is a highly relevant, if slightly harrowing, album that will age very well, I think - like fine wine. There is unlikely to be a more accurate expression of the times we are currently living in. It has been an honor to listen to and review this CD (which is also available as an mp3 download).

Learn more about Michael C. Ford.

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Book Review: Milo Martin's "Poems for the Utopian Nihilist"

 

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on October 28, 2008)

Milo Martin, Poems for the Utopian Nihilist, (Echo Park Press, 2008) 132 pages, poetry, $13.95 U.S.

This is one of those books one cannot help but wish one wrote. Milo Martin writes poems for what is being touted as the first new movement in poetry in the 21st century: the Utopian Nihilists, (for an idea of what that is Martin has kindly included a Manifesto in the back).

These poems follow a flow-of-thought pattern, not always coming full circle, and are always surprising. The rhythms, use of repetition and long rambling lines point to a body of work clearly meant to be performed. Precursors to Martin would include the Beats and the Slam culture. Yet Martin's almost jazz-like compositions are very much products of this time. It may be that no other poet writing today has yet captured the uniqueness of 21st century living and viewpoints as has Martin.

Each piece in Poems for the Utopian Nihilist feels like a wild, rollicking and spontaneous journey. It is clear, without reading the author's bio, that these works spring from the beautifully varied and energizing culture of California. Martin has composed a book that a reader will revel in again and again and always sense something new. Intoxicating, delightful yet unflinching, Martin sings like a tarnished bell proclaiming the imminent death of our time while enjoying every moment of madness as if each were the consummate joy of all joys.

Visit Martin's Facebook.

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Review of "Tomorrow, Yvonne: Poetry & Prose for Suicidal Egotists"

 

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on January 30, 2013)

In literary mythology and legend, poets were beings of a lofty kind. They were prophets, messengers of the gods or at least of the times. They were eccentric, crazy, lonely, fools, and wisdom personified. They were terrifying and compassionate, cold and warm, dazzling and puzzling. They went through the worst life had to deal out so as to sing of the most beautiful. But after 1914, two World Wars, Modernism, the bloodiest century in history (the 20th), followed quickly by what is stacking up to be an even more harrowing one (the 21st), we're all grown up now. We don't believe the stories. Our poets today are not heros with hearts closer to divinity. They are as dirty and ordinary as we are. And we treat them accordingly.

Yvonne De La Vega both embraces this notion and challenges it in one breath. Her debut collection (which is also her Collected Poems) titled "Tomorrow, Yvonne: Poetry & Prose for Suicidal Egotists" is a thick volume full of surprises. The language is ordinary, sometimes in the gutter. The rhythms are those of Spoken Word poetry - lending itself more to audio than to text. And indeed, up to now, that is how De La Vega's poetry has been presented and enjoyed. She is a lady of the street and of the moment, of seedy hangout joints and alleys where nothing much has changed but the drug in vogue. She can tell the stories of folk we tend to overlook: the homeless, the down-and-out, the never-had-glory-days, the castaway veteran, the bewildered immigrant, etc. But she also carries the lofty calling: declaring that poetry without a purpose isn't poetry at all, that the war between good and evil is real, implying again and again that somehow she is meant by some higher power to write, and even reporting from the front lines of the Occupy Los Angeles Movement.

This book is larger than life, like the city she writes from. De La Vega has a stated passion for jazz and her poetry reads like jazz, particularly when read as a whole as this book allows. Free-form like water and hard to take in all at once - that's Yvonne De La Vega. Eccentric, crazy, lonely, terrifying and compassionate, cold and warm, dazzling and puzzling, a witness to our times, and as ordinary as your neighbor. Somehow, she's all those contradictions. "Tomorrow, Yvonne: Poetry & Prose for Suicidal Egotists" is a contemporary answer to the literary legend.

Learn more about De La Vega at Facebook.

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An Interview with Poet Ellyn Maybe

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on May 24, 2012)

Ellyn Maybe is a formidable figure in contemporary American poetry today. Her work in fusing the so-called separate arts of music and poetry into one art form has been groundbreaking. Her most recent work, a CD of her poems set to music called "Rodeo For The Sheepish", continues to garner praise and notoriety wherever it is heard or performed. This interview was conducted via email on May 11 and 12, 2012:

S.R.: What was it that drew you to poetry in the beginning?

E.M.: When I was living in Manhattan, I was walking by a bookstore and a poem came to me inspired by something that I saw through the window. Something tends to spark a poem and then the poem comes quickly.

S.R.: What is it that you hope to achieve with your work?

E.M.: Resonance.

S.R.: What is it that most inspires you in your daily life?

E.M.: The arts. Watching a YouTube clip of Leonard Bernstein talking about Beethoven or seeing Ray Charles doing Ring of Fire or hearing Lou Reed singing Perfect Day are inspiring, stimulating things for me which I thrive on. Plus, I work at a literary center so I see a lot of poetry readings and other various events, including film screenings, talks, etc. I also attend events around Los Angeles. I've been doing that for many years.

S.R.: What would you say is the most exciting or fulfilling thing your work in poetry has given you opportunity to do, and why?

E.M.: My poetry has been nourished and appreciated which has led to some really amazing things. It's an ongoing process.

S.R.: Is there a specific opportunity or event that stands out to you? Why was it particularly special for you?

E.M.: When Greil Marcus, the amazing music writer, got in touch to write about Rodeo for the Sheepish, it was a very touching experience. He had heard half of City Streets on KALX in Berkeley. When your work impacts people whose work you admire, that is incredible. Many years ago, I gave my chapbook to Howard Zinn and Michael Parenti and they both wrote back lovely things immediately. That was amazing.

S.R.: Why are you so drawn to music, and what further projects do you have in mind to bring your passions for poetry and music together?

E.M.: I've always found music a kindred language. I'm planning to do another album with my band and continue writing and performing with them.

S.R.: What were your objectives for "Rodeo For The Sheepish" in particular? What do you think could have been done better? Do you feel that it has lived up to those objectives?

E.M.: I didn't have particular objectives for Rodeo for the Sheepish. It happened somewhat spontaneously and we were very happy how it turned out. The fact that The Ellyn Maybe Band now exists is awesome. We're writing songs together and have performed in Ireland and at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK as well as Shakespeare and Company in Paris.

S.R.: What are your other hobbies/passions? How would you like to bring them all together some day?

E.M.: Film, theater, art. I would like to collaborate in these various art forms. Expand my horizons. Some of this is already taking place. I wrote a book of poems inspired by my cousins' nature photographs. I would love for Rodeo for the Sheepish to turn into a musical someday, but don't really know when that will happen. Five videos have been made for the songs on Rodeo and there are ten tracks so, hopefully, they will all have a video someday.

S.R.: In a lot of ways poetry is as much about humor, play, and having fun as it is about serious issues and art. Which of these would you most like readers/listeners to take from your art? Or do you prefer a balance between them and why?

E.M.: I hope the mixture is something that people find compelling. Humor and sadness dwell in there and hopefully add to the emotional landscape.

S.R.: What do you think is most important for a poet in this digital age? Do you think it helps or hinders the art?

E.M.: I think connecting with others is very important and also finding community. It's crucial and I have found it to be helpful. Being computer savvy helps with social media, that sort of thing, but you don't have to be too technical to do it.

S.R.: What would you like to see change for poets?

E.M.: It would be truly awesome if the financial situation would get a bit brighter!

Ellyn Maybe's FaceBook

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