News from Down to the Cafe: New Poems

Dave Lee, with News From Down to the Cafe, has brought us closer to the oral tradition which is at the center of what poetry should always strive to be. To be experienced fully, the poems must be read aloud, and not just at the author's urging, but because all poetry should be read out loud. "Poetry is a participation sport," Lee has said more than once. With this book, and others of his this is not hyperbole--- a vocal reading is essential. Dave Lee paints not just pictures with his words, his poems are vast murals of what it is like to live in a small town where things are done a bit differently. In "The Twenty-One Gun Salute," Lee shows how the collective mind of the small town works by exploring the skewed perception of what a funeral must have in order to be a real funeral. "The Fish" takes on marriage and the determination of a husband and wife, both unwilling to give in to the other. However, what I found of particular interest and delight in this collection of poems, was the inclusion of E.U. Washburn. Having grown up in a small town (though not as small as the author's), I have seen many of the same people included in Lee's books, in my own life. E.U. Washburn literally sends a chill down my back. Not because every small town has someone like E.U., or because there is the chance that I knew the one from my town, but because E.U. Washburn is so complete. I actually ask myself at times whether E.U. is actually a manifestation of the poet in the third person. My conclusion is that E.U. Washburn is at least in part, autobiographical. Dave Lee seems to be a democratic poet, because he chooses to write about what he knows, with a voice that he has known all of his life. Lee has studied for the ministry, taken a Ph.D. in literature, taught at Southern Utah University, but has also raised pigs, been a professional pitcher, and soldier. These things and more have shaped his voice into one of the truly unique voices in American Poetry. To pass by this book, or Lee's other works without reading them, would leave a blind spot in anyone's literary experience.

Did you ever sit at the counter of a small coffee shop, where everyone not only knows your name, but your life story as well? That's what reading David Lee's latest is like. The poems are the stories of the people , alive and dead, who reside in this small town. The characters recur, with us learning more about them each time. For the most enjoyment, read the stories aloud, to yourself, your friends, or your cat. Read slowly, so you can hear the true voices, and have fun.