Description

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Alexander Shaumyan immigrated to the U.S. from Russia with his family in 1975. His personal poetry and Russian translations are well known internationally. This is his tenth full length book of poetry. In it, he's no longer the sheltered innocent dreaming of unconditional love. His eyes are wide open; he sees the world around him for what it is. Humans have become a generation of selfish, perverted, spoiled technocrats, living in a dangerous world where no one is safe anymore.This excerpt from the title poem sets the tone: And we knew somehowThat there was no one to save usFrom ourselves --No gods, no karma, no military, No peace corps, nor futile protestMarches on Washington.In Shaumyan's view, we have become "second hand people living off recycled / words that offer neither substance / nor meaning." This is true in poetry as well as politics. His growing cynicism is clear in "I Don't Want to be a Poet: "I don't want to be a poetJust to be heard by otherPoets or would be poetsAt some phonyOpen mike poetryReadings or poetrySlams with everyoneDesperate for attention --As humans, our place in the Universe is not destined for memorable greatness. Consider the last verse of "Old Dudes in Metaphysical Jungles: "But the circus goes on undetected even now --With all the claims of omnipotenceAnd omniscience, we are still too damn smallFor this universe."Another Uplifting Poem" demonstrates this poet's use of brilliant sarcasm in the face of reality, where only a poem stands between life and a man with a gun to his head: It was another uplifting poem, Masquerading as the meaning of life, And those who took little sips from itFelt a little better during the dayBecause the poem was their friendLike a get-well card or a call fromThat special someone with itsHuggy-poo and lovey-dooType of fuzzy nonsense...Shaumyan's world is awash with "posers, losers, junkies, and self-important thugs." His brilliant mind cannot absorb the awful truths. He searches for solace in the beauty of nature or love, but visions of bombed buildings, scorched earth, and helpless victims of greed and war haunt him: I've seen pompous old menProfess higher truths, And children mangled, Murdered and starved, Or sold to the highestBidder --Readers will find no huggy-poo or lovey-poo types of fuzzy nonsense here. These poems are Shaumyan's unflinching view of our modern world. His words are scalpels that dissect pretenses, hypocrisy, greed, politics, and war. If you haven't read Shaumyan's work, I recommend you start with this book.Laurel JohnsonMidwest Book Review.