This particular collection is appealing to me in that it contains many observations about the seemingly mundane. I tend to enjoy poetry that find meaning in, well, nothing. The author is a newspaper journalist, a fact that is obvious throughout the poems, including those that are not actually about the work itself.

My favorites of the set are a mix of finding fascination in blandness and those about working in an office. A few snippets:


This is what's-his-name's voice mail. It isn't him,
it's just a phantom of him, taking his place
until he gets back from wherever he is
and where he is is none of your business, is it?

~Excerpt from "Voice Mail"



A long time ago a box
lay on a trash heap behind a blue jeans factory
in Linden, Tennessee. It was nothing,
just an ordinary, useless occupant of the light,
a bland statement: "Union Manufacturing" stenciled in bold
black letters on its side like an urge
to be important.

~Excerpt from "The Brief Life of the Box"


I believe that these are fairly representative of what this collection is all about. Finding interest in the mundane and somehow transforming it into the fascinating... and a clever look at working in an office and/or newspaper business.

Perhaps I am alone in finding it interesting to read poetry written by people who are accomplished writers in other fields. Tucker was part of a breaking news team that won a Pulitzer. That is a pretty fine indication that he excels as a journalist, so if you want to see how a journalist transforms their style into free verse poetry, this collection is worth a peek.

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Created Jan 28, 2016 at 11:33pm • Submit your own review...