This the latest poetry collection by Edmonton poet and publisher Wolfgang Carstens. There are 41 poems in this slim volume, some of which were previously self published in limited chapbook editions which are not available for purchase, including Perpetual Pallbearer (2018) and Welcome To Canada Bitch! (2019).
Carsten’s Prince Charming is the second book he has published through Todd Cirillo’s Six Ft, Swells Press and follows the highly readable Hell and High Water (2017): https://www.amazon.com/Hell-High-Water-Wolfgang-Carstens/dp/0985307560#ace-g2545694624
In the interview with Carstens which follows this short review, he says of Cirillo’s role as editor, “Todd Cirillo is a true editor in the purest sense of the word. He’d send me suggestions about certain poems, arrangement of poems, and I would work through his suggestions to see if they worked for me. One particular poem ‘it was,’ from Hell and High Water, for example, is a testament of Cirillo’s genius. The poem was originally written from a male perspective. Cirillo suggested flipping it around and writing it from the female perspective. When I did, Cirillo was right—it becomes a much more powerful poem.”
The title of the collection derives from the domestic poem ‘i’m starting’:
“i’m starting
to look my age,”
my wife says,
as she’s putting on
her makeup.
“no you’re not,”
i say,
kissing her on the cheek.
“yes,”
she says,
“i look 40.”
“well,”
i say,
“i guess i need
to trade you in
for a younger model.”
“Honey,
i love you,”
she says,
“but there’s
no other woman
on the face of the planet
that would put up
with your shit.”
“that’s not true,”
i say,
laughing,
“i’m charming.”
“Prince of Darkness,
maybe,”
she says,
“but Prince Charming,
you’re not.”
“that’s pretty good,”
i say,
“i’m gonna put that
in a poem.”
“and that’s another thing,”
she says,
“without me,
who’s gonna write
your books
for you?”
(all poems in this review have been posted with the permission of the poet)
The light-hearted but direct banter between husband and wife and her role as his muse is characteristic of Carstens’ poetry through Six Ft, Swells Press. Pressed about how the title was chosen and how he was persuaded to wear fancy dress for the book’s cover, Wolf says: “The more I thought about a title for the collection, the more “Prince Charming” jumped out at me. The idea to put me in drag was Cirillo’s idea. He staged the cover photo and I merely followed his instruction.
“I actually did two photo shoots. The shoot from which the cover photo was taken and another shoot in full drag with make-up and wig. In the full drag shoot, I forgot to wear my tiara. It was the only thing Cirillo told me not to forget.”
Carstens’ wife Tracy Lee, for whom the book is dedicated, appears in many poems- the most memorable include ‘today’, ‘after too many beers’, ‘when my wife’ and ‘driving my wife.’ She is represented in several ways- as muse, as bitch, as soul mate and sometimes in a mocking manner. Asked what his wife thinks about appearing in his poems Carstens candidly says, “ My wife is truly one of the funniest people I know and many of my “relationship poems” are autobiographical. The title poem, for example, was based upon a real conversation—as many of these types of poems are. If you ask my wife, she’ll jokingly tell you she writes my books.”
Carstens writes about relationships in an open and non-bullshit way. He often uses dialogue to add authenticity and variety to the work. ‘on our first date’, ‘the first time’, ‘hope’, ‘I’m trapped’ and ‘I need’ are some excellent examples of his craft.
As in Carstens’ arguably best collection of poetry ‘crudely mistaken for life’ (Epic Rites Press, 2010), he continues to dissect the concept of death. The best poems in Prince Charming include his classics ‘i want my funeral’, ‘i used to believe’, ‘in a drunken stupor’ from Bulletproof and the more subtle, poignant poems ‘I sit alone’, ‘how old’ and ‘Beverly’. The latter three are short, pithy poems which use simple anecdotes to provide sharp insights into the interplay between the sadness death brings and life’s regenerative spirit.
Carstens says regarding his approach to writing and his representation of death, “I don’t sit down to write poetry. I write only what inspires me. It’s not a fascination with death but rather death inspires me to write about living. If you look at my death poems, you will generally find a message about living each moment fully and completely.”
The poem ‘Beverly’ about his late aunt, captures this idea beautifully:
Beverly,
i saw
a little girl
who looked just
like you.
she
had your
smile.
it
had me thinking
Death
doesn’t always
win.
Further to this notion in Carstens’ writing, is his adherence to what he calls “the philosophy of Warren Zevon”, the late great American musician, which he richly shares with his editor and publisher Todd Cirillo. The concept is brilliantly highlighted in one of the last poems in the collection ‘i wear shorts’:
i wear shorts
every day.
all year,
whether
it’s plus 30
or minus 40.
lots of people
in Alberta
rarely go outside
in winter.
for me,
it’s like Zevon’s sandwich,
everyday
above the blades of grass
is a good day.
they say
i’m crazy.
i
say they don’t
understand
the Warren Zevon
philosophy.
most only ask
“who is Warren Zevon?”
i tell them
it’s getting cold out here,
probably time for them
to head back indoors.
Asked whether he actually wears shorts everyday and about what he means by the Warren Zevon philosophy, Carstens replies enthusiastically and at length:
“The Warren Zevon philosophy is perfectly expressed by Zevon’s response to David Letterman’s question about whether or not his impending death provided him any insights about life. Zevon’s response was only that it showed him “to place more value on every minute” and to “enjoy every sandwich.”—which is, of course, another way to express my own “Live today—tomorrow never comes” mantra. It may sound cliche but it’s a powerful way to live—to embrace not only the good times, but the bad times as well. I can think of no better expression of a live well lived than Nietzsche’s “Amor Fati”—which is to be able to look back on your life and to wish nothing different forwards or backwards—to not only embrace every joy, every sadness, every triumph and every failure—to be happy, not in spite of it all, but because of it all—to realize that without these experiences, you would be somebody completely different. It’s a tall order, of course. Warren Zevon wasn’t morose when Death came knocking. He didn’t try to run or hide or beg for mercy—in fact, he opened the door, invited Death inside and served him breakfast. Few have died with as much dignity, grace or humour as Zevon—and he fully embraced Nietzsche’s Amor Fati. He stared into the face of the eternal recurrence and said “Yes” to everything. That is the Warren Zevon philosophy—encapsulated by that enigmatic phrase “enjoy every sandwich.” Yes, I wear shorts every day—in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter—and in the context of my poem, the Warren Zevon philosophy is represented as wearing shorts in the freezing cold—not to bundle up against winter, but to embrace it.”
Despite the bleakness of some of Carstens’ subject matter- the coming on of “winter”, the imminent collapse of relationships, blackouts, sickness and death- there is also a great humour and exuberance in his work. The poetry is typically pared back, highly accessible, and as always, worthy of multiple readings.
I reckon the poem which best reflects the spirit of Amor Fati in this collection is ‘I want my funeral’ in which Carstens triumphantly imagines a drug & beer fuelled wake in his absence:
put a bottle opener
on my casket;
pack it with ice
and turn it
into a beer cooler;
peel back my flesh
and turn my skull
into a hash bong.
just party motherfuckers!
celebrate the fact
that I’m dead
and you’re not.
Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Prince-Charming-Wolfgang-Carstens/dp/0985307579
INTERVIEW WITH WOLFGANG CARSTENS 9 MARCH 2021
Edmonton is a damn cold place in winter. What keeps you there?
It doesn’t matter where you live, my friend, as long as you’re with the right people. As Nietzsche put it, “as long as you have a powerful why, you can put up with almost any how.”
Prince Charming is your second book published through Six Ft. Swells Press following Hell and High Water (2017). Can you describe the process editor Todd Cirillo undertook to put together and publish the collection?
Todd Cirillo is a true editor in the purest sense of the word. He’d send me suggestions about certain poems, arrangement of poems, and I would work through his suggestions to see if they worked for me. One particular poem “it was,” from Hell and High Water, for example, is a testament of Cirillo’s genius. The poem was originally written from a male perspective. Cirillo suggested flipping it around and writing it from the female perspective. When I did, Cirillo was right—it becomes a much more powerful poem.
it was
a nice gesture,
of course,
getting
the heart tattoo
with his name
inked across it,
but,
in his heart
of hearts,
he knew
she had it
backwards.
it was he
that would always
belong
to
her.
The front cover photograph is by Tracy Landers and the graphic design by Julie Valin. The Prince Charming reference can be found in the poem ‘I’m starting’. Can you provide some background information on how the title was chosen and how you got to wear fancy dress?
The more I thought about a title for the collection, the more “Prince Charming” jumped out at me. The idea to put me in drag was Cirillo’s idea. He staged the cover photo and I merely followed his instruction.
I actually did two photo shoots. The shoot from which the cover photo was taken and another shoot in full drag with make-up and wig. In the full drag shoot, I forgot to wear my tiara. It was the only thing Cirillo told me not to forget.
Do you really wear shorts everyday as you say in ‘I wear shorts’? What do you mean by the Warren Zevon philosophy?
The Warren Zevon philosophy is perfectly expressed by Zevon’s response to David Letterman’s question about whether or not his impending death provided him any insights about life. Zevon’s response was only that it showed him “to place more value on every minute” and to “enjoy every sandwich.”—which is, of course, another way to express my own “Live today—tomorrow never comes” mantra. It may sound cliche but it’s a powerful way to live—to embrace not only the good times, but the bad times as well. I can think of no better expression of a live well lived than Nietzsche’s “Amor Fati”—which is to be able to look back on your life and to wish nothing different forwards or backwards—to not only embrace every joy, every sadness, every triumph and every failure—to be happy, not in spite of it all, but because of it all—to realize that without these experiences, you would be somebody completely different. It’s a tall order, of course. Warren Zevon wasn’t morose when Death came knocking. He didn’t try to run or hide or beg for mercy—in fact, he opened the door, invited Death inside and served him breakfast. Few have died with as much dignity, grace or humour as Zevon—and he fully embraced Nietzsche’s Amor Fati. He stared into the face of the eternal recurrence and said “Yes” to everything. That is the Warren Zevon philosophy—encapsulated by that enigmatic phrase “enjoy every sandwich.” Yes, I wear shorts every day—in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter—and in the context of my poem, the Warren Zevon philosophy is represented as wearing shorts in the freezing cold—not to bundle up against winter, but to embrace it.
Your wife Tracey Lee appears in many of your recent poems. What does she think about her role as muse, “bitch” and soul mate in your work?
My wife is truly one of the funniest people I know and many of my “relationship poems” are autobiographical. The title poem, for example, was based upon a real conversation—as many of these types of poems are. If you ask my wife, she’ll jokingly tell you she writes my books.
I saw online some footage of your readings in Kansas City and New Orleans. What did you enjoy and take away from the experiences?
It gave me a great excuse to hang out with good friends Todd Cirillo, Rob Plath and William Taylor Jr. Most poetry events are disastrous—poorly thought out events with bad poetry, bad writers and horrendous readings. Here, I came prepared—backed with three of the most powerful writers and readers on the planet.
The great take away was know your audience and choose your material accordingly. My poem, “i woke up completely drunk,” from Prince Charming, for example, is a great example of how quickly readings can go sideways:
i woke up completely drunk.
i should’ve been at work
two hours ago
but have yet to leave
the house.
at any rate,
i began my day
by revisiting my reading
in Lawrence, Kansas.
i never realized
that i completely interrupted
the event organizer and host.
she’s
literally in the middle
of introducing me
when i start my set.
yeah,
that’s how
you pull the crowd on your side.
first, cut off the event organizer and host,
then read poems about fat women,
women who can’t cook,
women who stalk you,
women whose genitals resemble mongooses,
women who don’t give blowjobs,
about moving to Salt Lake City
with you sister wives,
then for good measure,
throw in a bunch of dick jokes—
all the while
being so drunk
you can barely speak.
well played Wolfgang,
you are a consummate
professional.
Many of the poems in the collection explore death. Why the continued fascination?
I don’t sit down to write poetry. I write only what inspires me. It’s not a fascination with death but rather death inspires me to write about living. If you look at my death poems, you will generally find a message about living each moment fully and completely.
The poem ‘i sit alone’ was written during a Fall camping trip—where the winds were picking up and orange and yellow leaves were dropping around me. The scene struck me as a perfect metaphor for death. The dying fire being my passion for living and my life force. The message here is to get busy because you don’t have as much time as you think.
The output of books you have published through Epic Rites Press appear to have slowed recently. What’s happening in the future with your press?
The future of ERP involves the publication of a monthly printed magazine that features short, underground, family friendly poems that exemplify what great writing means to me. The magazine, ESCAPE IS AT HAND, printed in a run of 2000 copies, will be distributed freely to bars, cafes, fast food joints, restaurants and anywhere else that people congregate and wait. The mission is to deliver great underground writing into the mainstream population and introduce great poetry to people who normally wouldn’t read poetry. Each issue will be read by roughly 100,000 people. The first issue features work by Todd Cirillo, Rob Plath, William Taylor Jr. and Bill Gainer. It was supposed to launch in early 2020 but was delayed because of the pandemic.
The mission of ERP has always been to expose mainstream readers to great, underground writers. This mission is better achieved by a monthly magazine.
What’s your next writing adventure?
I’ve recently completed a book of original philosophy currently under review by a few publishers. I’m presently hammering out a second book of original philosophy. Also, I have articles under review for publication in a few philosophy magazines.
Thank you, George.
All the best Wolf with your upcoming projects!
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