A poet that kicks and screams and bares all. I really love that.
I didn't know of Justin Booth until I returned to writing and reading poetry in the last few months. Back in the day we had glorious mySpace and now, in 2019, we are stuck with Facebook. It's a troubling platform for any number of reasons but it allows me to find poets I have never read.
A mutual friend of Justin and I recommended I look for out his work and I did. A simple search led me to something called The Luckiest Man. Sight unseen I bought it from a well-hated online supplier and in two days I held it in my hands.
Certainly reviewing poetry is no simple task and my approach is as random as it can get. I carry the book with me everywhere I go. More out of a love of the physicality of a book, the weight and the smell, but also because I need to be in a particular moment to enjoy poetry, to absorb it and let it sink into the gray matter. You never know when that kicks in.
And while pretentious sounding, it is true. Between meetings at work I read the first 18 pages of The Luckiest Man and I had to set it down.
From "Before:"
Before I served time
in prisons and jails for
offending the dignity
of Arkansas laws,
before I ate spreads
of ramen and Cheetos
and lit cigarettes from
outlets high up
on the wall behind the t.v.,
Rough, raw, and real. I wanted to quote the whole poem as it is the keynote of the book. It is the message about who the writer is, what he is about, and where everything will end up. The poem starts in the now and moves backward, before all the bullshit, angst, and trouble, back to the innocence of being Momma's boy. And there is a keen sense of innocence throughout.
From "My Best Girl:"
She comes by
when she needs
to feel beautiful or
loved or
just needs
to feel,
and I
tell her
I love her
the most
and that
she is
my best girl.
Booth's style is straight-ahead, no bullshit writing. I imagine he writes very fast, from brain to fingers to done. He does not delve deep into any stylistic trappings and that is a good thing.
Much of The Luckiest Man concerns a trip to NYC and adventures therein. Some of the strongest pieces are simple snapshots in the moment. There is a great beauty in that approach.
From "Walking Through Harlem:"
The Rowhouses stand watch
over single speaker Dominican music
played on transistor radios,
the neighborhood statesmen
in camp chairs with beers
and pretty girls
leaned in doorways
talking too loud on the phone
In all I read the book 5 times. I had to. Each read led to something new, something to think about, something to ponder, and that's exactly what a poet must do. Engage the reader, grab them, hold them, and scream in your face.
In all The Luckiest Man is a solid book of poetry, one that should be on your bookshelf. It has power in the raw emotion of the writing. It is true the writing and the words that make the impact, rather than an archetype of someone else.
In the end small press poets are often missed, hell poetry in general is often missed but Justin Booth's The Luckiest Man should not.
jack henry
jackhenry.wordpress.com
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