Review of SURREALITIES by Bruce Boston

Dark Regions Press, Colusa CA 95932
www.darkregions.com
ISBN978-1-037128-13-5, $9.95

As a long time fan of Bruce Boston’s writing (both science fiction, e.g. The Gardener’s Tale, and poetry books), I was not at all surprised to be deeply moved by his newest poetry collection, SURREALITIES. These poems reside in a constantly shifting liminality long familiar to this dream-worker and Tarot reader in her own work, but flavored and shaped by Boston’s unique accent and structure. What we name the surreal, that to this writer by any other name means “connection.” I.e., a meeting (as in metaphor) of things not usually perceived as existing together.

In a further sense of connection, these poems offer opportunities to meet up with other realities always creating and undoing themselves beyond our grasp, but now available to our sensoriums. Make of them what we may, and let me emphasize that there is much I found myself making of these poems in laughter, in sighs, in bursts of sad or “ah hah” recognition. But just experiencing these fantastic hybrids – in and of themselves – was a gift.

I particularly reveled in the ink blot illustrations that Boston made and chose for this collection. Possibly because of my own heavily visual orientation, even in poetry. And as Boston’s poems have an emphasize on structure or geometry, an almost mathematical impact, the ink blots gave me further entrance into the surrealities in this book. (Or they into me?)

I am sure I would have said this even had the last poem in his book not been a surreal Tarot reading: The entire experience of this book is like a dense and portentous Tarot reading. One in which meaning always seems to slip right out of our grasp. Yet we still feel deeply enriched, as if some other part of us has made the connections and fully understands and revels in it all. (An aside: An ink blot Tarot deck? Hmmm…)

My two favorite poems – among the many that invited me to the dance – are “Two Nightstands Attacking a Cello” and “Surreal Fortune.” And they just happen to be the first and last poems. Surreal bookends for a book well worth adding to and keeping on our bookshelves.

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‘til next time, keep dreaming,

**** [aka: Patricia Kelly] **** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, OPENING TO THE LIGHT (for digital pix only), and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****