Monthly Archives: December 2010

Christakos’s contrarian constructions

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Douglas Barbour

Margaret Christakos. What Stirs (Coach House 2008). Margaret Christakos is a kind of domestic bricoleur, a subtle constructionist of a poet, with a fine sense of how formal constraints can bring structure to all the ‘gathered’ material in her poems. … Continue reading →

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Jon Paul Fiorentino indexes elegy

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Douglas Barbour

Jon Paul Fiorentino. Indexical Elegies (Coach House 2010). With an index card for a cover, this book sets out from the get go to warp the traditional sense of the elegy, yet its long title poem, certainly the felt centre … Continue reading →

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Alan Campbell’s debut trilogy: strong beginning, slapdash conclusion.

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Douglas Barbour

Alan Campbell. Scar Night (TOR 2006), Iron Angel (2008), God of Clocks 2009): The Deepgate Codex. Scar Night, the first volume of this trilogy, got rave reviews, & is certainly a fine example, as a first novel, of a fairly … Continue reading →

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A few occasional thoughts on Literature, High & Low:

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Douglas Barbour

Jon Courtenay Grimwood. End of the World Blues (2006). Michael Chabon. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000). I read these two in quick succession (&, yes, I should have caught up with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & … Continue reading →

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A rhapsody of signs

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Douglas Barbour

Kevin McPherson Eckhoff. Rhapsodomancy (Coach House 2010). Rhapsodomancy is simply great fun. And perhaps a lesson in alphabetical hubris. Eckhoff, a clearly talented visual poet (& perhaps a fine sound poet; I have not heard him) has taken on both … Continue reading →

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