Well, okay! I do believe the St. Helena Star's brief but erudite review of INVENT(ST)ORY may just become one of my favorite reviews for comparing me to a pig.
The prolific Mozart once boasted (to his sister, no less) of writing music “as a sow piddles.” I’m not sure St. Helena poet Eileen R. Tabios would resort to such coarse imagery to describe her own creative process, but she sure churns out volumes of poetry with astounding ease and regularity. Her latest (at least as of its publication on Sept. 1) is “Invent[st]ory,” and the punning title is a clue that it’s a collection of “catalog” or “list” poems Eileen has written since 1996. My favorite poem in it was “The Erotic Life of Art: A Séance with William Carlos Williams,” which draws upon anecdotes from the lives of great artists in a way that reminded me of David Markson’s late novels. I wonder if Eileen has read Markson’s moving, profoundly sad “Wittgenstein’s Mistress” – if not, I humbly recommend it to her, and to the rest of you as well.
Plus, the reviewer added a new novel to my reading list -- what's not to appreciate?!
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