As gritty as they are elegant, these poems range from the confessional ("Anti-Romantic Moon") to the political ("Another Fall"), free verse to the formal, without skipping a beat or telegraphing a single punch.
I like the way the poet embraces poetic tradition without merely imitating other poets. In his poem, "False Security," he pays homage to the metaphysical poets and pays his respects to Gary Snyder, a "paunchy bifocaled cuss." in "Snyder at Sixty." In "The Sweet Bye and Bye" Held takes Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and turns it on its ear.
His poems have weight without any fat added. They are honest and meet the reader at eye-level without pretension. He relates some fundamental truth that there is often beauty in violence ("A crimson flower blossoms on a woman's crown . . . ") and that lust is often a purer, more poignant expression of desire than romantic gestures ("As I wriggled my finger inside your panties, you unearthed me . . . ")
The truth is, of several thousand submissions and the books and chapbooks that traffic through my mailbox every year, I seldom get the opportunity to read anything that is worth the effort it takes to toss a lit match in its direction. So, that is why I am pleasantly surprised to say that George Held's collection is a keeper.
-- Reviewed by JCE