Mark Eleveld

This is the book that introduced me to Tom Waits. So that's cool. I like most of the poems, but some of them drag on. I liked the one poem where it was told like a story about the old woman who put a curse on a guy. And the poems that explored the issue of language and dialect, it was interesting for me to read that as a white person. The issue of feeling misunderstood and having to decide how much you are willing to compromise is something universal, I think, although I can't claim anyone else's experiences. I really liked the hip-hop parody of Sylvia Plath. It was so out-there but it worked. I also liked the wedding poem about the guy who says "pie glue" and spends a lot of time feeling awkward and ridiculous. It was a good portrayal of feeling overwhelmed by expectations. I guess I could go on for a while about the poems in this book. It's an eclectic collection. The book comes with a CD as well.… (altro)