Ring of Fire

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Summary: Things Which Are Repeated Are Not Necessarily Pleasing
Review: I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE OVERKILL ON ANAPHORISTIC PERMUTATIONS. THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK, I FEEL, CONTAINED THE MOST INSTERESTING AND VARIED USE OF ANAPHORA AND OTHER FORMS. LATER LYRICS SUCH AS THE 'SEA LYRICS'SECTION SEEMED OVERTLY AND ESOTERICALLY FRAGMENTED. METAPHORS ARE FEW IN THESE POEMS. ANIMAL POEMS SUCH AS 'OF A LEMUR' ARE DOWNRIGHT RIDICULOUS. I QUESTION THE DESTINATION OF CONTEMPORARY POETRY WITH A PUBLICATION LIKE THIS, BUT I AM GLAD I READ IT.

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Summary: Ring of Fire and other allusions
Review: The titular allusion to Johnny Cash is not the only thread from popular culture deftly woven into this fascinating book. Jarnot often tests, indeed pushes, the poetry-prose boundary and embraces language that is not "traditional" in poetry. The "Sea Lyrics" section, in particular, is reminiscent of Leslie Scalapino's "that they were at the beach" in a reverent, non-derivative way. The animal poems, speaking of influences, are strongly reminiscent of Marianne Moore, if she had lived in the early 21st century, and "Moo Is Om Backwards" is also a sweet homage to Gertrude Stein. But what shines brightest for me in this book is the "Eightfold Path" section (okay, it pleases my Buddhist bias) and the ecstatic lyric "Song for Philip Lamantia." This is a book I always keep near at hand.