Splay Anthem

Nathaniel Mackey, Splay Anthem (New Directions, 2006) There is a (very) short list of poets I keep in the back of my head whom I believe every "performance" poet, "slam" poet, and "spoken word artist" should read-- those poets whose work is offered in the same performance-oriented vein, but still works first and foremost as poetry. I have added Nathaniel Mackey to the list, for Splay Anthem is the epitome of this style of writing-- it sounds great when you read it aloud, and stands up when you read it on the page. Mackey has not forgotten that poetry is, first and foremost, about the sound (where so many of these others are so concerned with the message they're trying to get across that I often wonder if whether it sounds good ever enters their heads), and man, it sounds good: "Vibrating string held us together,/hostage, nubs what before were/fingers albeit we plucked at it/even so, a subdued drum pounding/past/words, words' amanuensis...Packed up,/departed, booked... 'Cold water/and dirt,' a voice we heard sang,/wasted." ("Song of the Andomboulou: 44") This is great stuff, made all the more interesting by Mackey's erudite (and quite illuminating) introduction, which traces, in an impressionist kinda way, a string of influences that led to the poems we have here. All the messages that the performance poets are so hot to make sure we humans understand are in this book, but-- and this is the important part, kiddies-- they never get in the way of the poetry itself. And that's what makes this such a fine piece of work. Should be required reading for aspiring poets with messages, and highly recommended for everyone else, too. ****

the river that runs thru it, thru all of it, it being the writings of nathaniel mackey, his poetry and what prose i've read by him, is jazz, mostly free jazz. poetry on the page when it professes to be music, a specific music, unless the specific piece intended is present, or known by the reader, is there for the mercy of individual interpretation. and i seriously doubt in such instances that any two readers will hear the same music, except in say, a very generalized listening, or listenings, then, at best, there's some consensus: yes, this is jazz i hear when i read these poems. i believe any and all poetry in hand should, whenever possible, be read aloud, so the rhythms of the poetry, the arrangement of iamb and anapest, of assonance and alliteration, as arranged by the poet can come fully into play, with a turning on of the medium, and the reader as listener to one's own voice speaking or chanting or singing the poet's words fits the reading. now whatever music is heard may or may not have reference to specific recorded music heard somewhere in the listener's experience. words refer. mackey uses the word 'splay' as having multiple meanings, as with 'mu', one meaning refers to 2 don cherry recordings. mu, along with song of andoumboulou, are 2 ongoing serial poems by mackey, braided together under the title 'splay anthem.' mackey writes in his preface that each was given its impetus by a piece of music from which it takes its title. what can be annoying about mackey's projects, not just his poetry, is that everything he creates remains in flux, and, as such, is inconclusive. fortunately, he continues where he left off. and fortunately, enjoyment of his books does not rely on having read other books in the 'series'. the true pleasures of mackey's writing in general, and splay anthem in particular, are the rhythms of his language, the imagery he creates which remains long after the reading, and his generousity in sharing his knowledge and love of jazz. his preface should be read for his remarks on the saxophonist, glenn spearman.