52 Books in 52 Weeks, it's called. The challenge is simple: read a book every week for a year.
55. Self-portrait as Jerry Quarry.
We played “But For You Who Fear My Name” at church this weekend, and I thought I’d order this book of poems by songwriter Aiuto and find out from whence he came. I think you’ll agree, given the Morrison/Tweedy/even-Dylan caveat that I had much to fear, but Aiuto is at worst an interesting poet and at best speaks the language of men in the refinement of verse. He has a delightful habit of enjambed lines that lead you to jump to conclusions, over and over, and that then double back and surprise you with a new association. His associations—the act of repentance is like being thrown from a crashing car, a panting dog drops a coin from its wet tongue and dies, “The lake shaking itself free from the dog’s coat / and hurrying back to the earth, eager not / to raise an eyebrow”—can be revelatory. Some of the poems are willfully opaque, but they have an quality of aggressive regret that’s disarming. The standout piece, ‘Horse Stories,’ examines his father and his childhood through the lens of the heavyweight fights his father watched on the TV, and is devastating:
15.
You come back from work. There is silence, then
sleep, and still you do not want to talk. You
are not fully present. A part of you is always
catching up, arriving home
later, never really getting there. You
want very much to be idle, to want
nothing.
You sleep on the floor after work, jeans
or work pants, T-shirt, white cotton socks.
You sleep on your stomach, arms outstretched,
Sprawled, spread-eagle, like a boxer knocked
out, a hero fallen.
This follows 14 other entries, one a particularly affecting villanelle. The poems that follow this are all equally accomplished, miles beyond most of the poems that precede it. It’s as if the book opens up in the last third. Worth the price of admission.
I wasn’t aware of Vito’s poetry. I’ll check out the book. You probably already know this, but Vito and his wife also perform music as The Welcome Wagon. And Vito is also the subject of Sufjan Stevens’ “Vito’s Ordination Song” from the Michigan album.
Andy Whitman. July 8th. 2010. 12:55 pm.