Loew's Triboro

John Allman read at the West Side YMCA's Writer's Voice on April 16, 2004. This is from my introduction to the event. John Allman's poems always provide the reader with a clear sense of place, of time, of mood and ambiance. But in "Loew's Triboro," these senses are heightened, focused. With the familiarity only skill and experience can command, John Allman provides layer after telling layer of detail--vivid names of stores like Sal's Gorcery and Hubert's Flea Circus and of course Loew's Triboro Theatre itself. John Allman has the ability to lead the reader where he wants them to go--if only then to plunge them down unexpected alleys, whether through sudden violence, or into comradeship and affection. Always with a sense of movement, of events shaping lives, John Allmans' "Loew's Triboro" is a brilliant work.