What We’re Reading: This Clumsy Living
As a reader of Hazel & Wren, you’re likely no stranger to book recommendations. I find myself happily inundated with recommendations on an almost daily basis—from family members, friends, and even from the people who come into my work. I do my best to write down these recommendations and add them to my ever-growing list of books or authors to check out.
Recently, a close friend from high school lent me her copy of Bob Hicok’s collection of poetry This Clumsy Living (2007; University of Pittsburgh Press). The funny thing about book recommendations is that they’re unpredictable. Sometimes you’re given a gem, sometimes a dud. Though not a complete dud, Hicok’s collection fell shy of my expectations. Some poems, like “Happy anniversary” and “Her my body” are focused, allowing the beauty of Hicok’s language to shine through. Others, like “A poem with a poem in its belly” are flabby with language that doesn’t feel necessary.
I found myself continually wanting to love This Clumsy Living. Hicok’s voice is uniquely earnest and honest, addressing the reader directly, rather than observing into the ether. In “Grooming” he writes, “I shave my hair closer to my thoughts. / There’s a scar on the left side of my head I forget / why I have.” This diction is simple and everyday, the poetry feeling almost accidental. Unfortunately, the ease with which some poems seem to come is missing in other poems. “War story,” in which Hicok describes a battle that takes place with a pie in the middle of the battlefield, feels forced, trying to be deep, but pulled along only by the absurdity of a pie in the middle of a war.
Many of Hicok’s longer poems feel as if they should have been short poems. As if he’s tried to pack too much language into a small space and it’s spilled over. In some cases this is unpredictable in a satisfying way, as in “Duh”:
If we swapped
mistakes they might fit neatly
and with purpose into our lives.
I’ll lend you the day I locked
my keys in my mouth
if you give me the night
you got drunk and bought
a round of flowers for the house.
Other times, Hicok seems determined to surprise the reader at the expense of understanding. Though occasionally interesting to read, poems like “My career as a director” and “Theoretical love” never hit home. More cuts and revisions would have made a more concise and memorable read.
I was reluctant to write a What We’re Reading post about a book I wouldn’t necessarily recommend, but I was curious to know if any of our readers have read books at the urging of others and found them lacking. Have we recommended something on Hazel & Wren that you read and didn’t care for? How do you tell a friend or family member that you didn’t like their recommendation?
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