Plasticville

Rating:
Summary: Pure genius!
Review: As a transplanted Englishman, I have been a big fan of American poetry since World War II, and have been aware of David Trinidad's work since he started writing his Barbie pieces in L.A. in the '80s. At that time he seemed to me a promising writer, limited in scope, perhaps, but I was hoping his talent would be honed as he gained more experience. Unfortunately, it seems the opposite has occurred: Trinidad is clearly stuck in a rut. What once seemed clever and fresh has now been done to death and is unmistakably stale. Trinidad should reexamine his work and, hopefully, expand both his horizons and the limits of his talent, which he once so clearly had.

Rating:
Summary: Saves American Poetry from Itself
Review: I was given a copy of this book as a Chirstmas gift. I had heard of Trinidad before, even read his last book Answer Song, a friend had it. Plasticville renewed my interest in reading poetry. The work is fresh, plain, clean -- and while Trinidad can sometimes be a rigid formalist the material lightens the load. Having become bored with much contemporary American poetry, Trinidad's Plasticville helped to renew my interest. From the pop-culture material to the more intimate, domestic stuff (written in the voice of his dog!), Trinidad's Plasticville is refreshing, well-written, and a pleasure to read. So smart, so engaging, I can't wait to read what he does next.

Rating:
Summary: Recycled
Review: Some poems stretch the meaning of what a poem is. Others are simply not poetry. Plasticville contains poems of the second type. Trinidad seems obsessed with plastic and Barbie, but fails to do anything original or even clever with these themes. A few of these poems are just lists : Monster Mash, Of Mere Plastic, and In My Room. They appear to be poetry, but are just lists anyone could type up with their word processor centering the margin. A few, like the title piece Plasticville, Clue, and Directions, and are amusing, but there just aren't enough poems in this collection to make it worthwhile or memorable.

Rating:
Summary: Pure genius!
Review: This is the one of the few books of poetry I've read that actually means something! Discovering this has really changed the way I think about verse and books in general. The best thing about it? NOT boring. I'm so sick of the innocuous, adjectival, over-written, meaningless poems in so many journals and "literary" magazines of our time. David Trinidad is smart--read for pure pleasure, and then read again and look for the subtle tricks and talent he employs to make these poems truly great art! Truly fresh, too. No one else is writing about our tarnished culture like Trinidad. He is truly unique, and like I said, the best compliment I can give is that this book is not a bore--something that 98% of all books of poetry these days are! Thank you Mr. Trinidad! You've got me reading and enjoying poetry again!