#1 The Bowery Bartenders BIG BOOK of Poetry
Title: The Bowery Bartenders BIG BOOK of Poetry
Authors: Shappy, Moonshine Shorey, Laurel Barclay, Gary Mex Glazner
Publisher: Bob Holoman / YBK Publishers, New York, NY.
ISBN: 0-9764359-2-6 Price: $17.95
Copyright 2005
Pages: 123
Drinks and Poems – Nothing could make me happier!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato
The Bowery Bartenders Big Book of Poems is the collective works, as well as a short bio of four poets all of which are bartenders at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York. The idea of this club was that by opening a poetry bar, where the bartenders are all poets, performance poets get paid, meanwhile supporting the arts. Each of the four artists featured in this book have a unique style. I can only imagine what it must be like to be in the audience for a performance – something I would love to do someday.
Shappy is the first featured artist; you may have seen him on HBO’s Def Poetry Slam. The only word I can use to describe his style is emotional. With his use of language, punctuation and emphasis, it’s almost like you can hear him saying the words and like he’s making you feel whichever emotion he’s feeling in the poem.
Moonshine’s work comes from his life experiences. In each poem, the reader gets to glimpse into parts of the author’s life. The poem I like best of this particular artist’s work is called Stone’s Purpose, a poem written in a way like a song, about friendship and life and choices.
Laurel Barclay’s poems are interesting and a bit strange – but in a good way. Her words do one of two things, they either make you sit back and think – I mean really think, or visualize what she is writing about. One that sticks out in my mind that made me do both is Love is the beginning of the end, a bittersweet poem of love.
Gary Mex Glazner has the most unique style I’ve ever seen. His poems are written in the form of drink recipes complete with mixing instructions. At first glace, when I flipped through the book, I thought the end was all drink recipes, but as I was actually reading and got to his chapter I saw that although they are drink recipes, they are also poems. My favorite of which is The Robert Frosty, the instructions combining the tone of Frost’s poem Fire and Ice, and ending with the final line of Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken.
Although I hardly ever read a book of poems from cover to cover, in order, I enjoyed this one. I’ve never seen Def Poetry Jam or any other performance poetry, nor did I know there were such things as a poetry bar, but after reading this book, I’d like to find one and see what the performance poetry scene is like. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading unique poetry.
Authors: Shappy, Moonshine Shorey, Laurel Barclay, Gary Mex Glazner
Publisher: Bob Holoman / YBK Publishers, New York, NY.
ISBN: 0-9764359-2-6 Price: $17.95
Copyright 2005
Pages: 123
Drinks and Poems – Nothing could make me happier!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato
The Bowery Bartenders Big Book of Poems is the collective works, as well as a short bio of four poets all of which are bartenders at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York. The idea of this club was that by opening a poetry bar, where the bartenders are all poets, performance poets get paid, meanwhile supporting the arts. Each of the four artists featured in this book have a unique style. I can only imagine what it must be like to be in the audience for a performance – something I would love to do someday.
Shappy is the first featured artist; you may have seen him on HBO’s Def Poetry Slam. The only word I can use to describe his style is emotional. With his use of language, punctuation and emphasis, it’s almost like you can hear him saying the words and like he’s making you feel whichever emotion he’s feeling in the poem.
Moonshine’s work comes from his life experiences. In each poem, the reader gets to glimpse into parts of the author’s life. The poem I like best of this particular artist’s work is called Stone’s Purpose, a poem written in a way like a song, about friendship and life and choices.
Laurel Barclay’s poems are interesting and a bit strange – but in a good way. Her words do one of two things, they either make you sit back and think – I mean really think, or visualize what she is writing about. One that sticks out in my mind that made me do both is Love is the beginning of the end, a bittersweet poem of love.
Gary Mex Glazner has the most unique style I’ve ever seen. His poems are written in the form of drink recipes complete with mixing instructions. At first glace, when I flipped through the book, I thought the end was all drink recipes, but as I was actually reading and got to his chapter I saw that although they are drink recipes, they are also poems. My favorite of which is The Robert Frosty, the instructions combining the tone of Frost’s poem Fire and Ice, and ending with the final line of Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken.
Although I hardly ever read a book of poems from cover to cover, in order, I enjoyed this one. I’ve never seen Def Poetry Jam or any other performance poetry, nor did I know there were such things as a poetry bar, but after reading this book, I’d like to find one and see what the performance poetry scene is like. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading unique poetry.
posted by Jennifer Imparato | 7:14 PM
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