Image source: Amazon
Trainride Elsewhere
by John Thompson
Book Details
Title: Trainride Elsewhere
Author: John Thompson
Genre: Poetry
Length: 159 Pages
Publisher: Pressed Wafer
Publication Date: 10th August 2016
Format Available: Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1940396194
Price: USD15
Other Notes: Currently has eight reviews on Amazon, each of them gave a 5-star rating.
Amazon Blurb
John Thompson's first book of poetry is not, in poet Christopher Bursk's words, "an easy read. It teases us with hard questions, takes us into troubling parts of our soul we'd like to pretend don't exist, draws us to get our footing in lines that seem to shift under us and taxes the limits of poetry and of our own minds. Flick on the light of your miner's helmet. Join this poet and dig deep."
Review
I'm giving this collection 5-stars! I will go through the aspects that make this collection a masterpiece.
Naked Poetry
Firstly, the emotional content of the poems. They are raw. They are deep. They are naked. The words lay the poet's heart in your hand. You can see it. You can feel it. John Thompson is not shy to reveal his personal experiences. These include relations with family members, sexual and intimate relationships, and prison experience, amongst others. One of my favourite pieces from this collection is "a father" (p. 46) - it left quite an impression.
a father
your head is rolled
in oil & caught aflame
like a torch; now
i can see you from the far away
where you usually are
out of reach
Divine Word Selection
The selection of words is a work of a genius. The imagery is divine - it is worth noting that some poems include vivid erotic or macabre descriptions. They paint the picture clearly, and I am sure that noteveryonee is ready to read poetry with such heavy tones. As Bursk says in the blurb, we have to be comfortable with ourselves to enjoy this collection to its full extent. No animals were harmed in the writing of the following poem (mary & her little lamb, p. 122).
mary & her lamb
mary has a little lamb
its fleece, white as snowmary takes it to the slaughter house
& watches the butcher take its soulits blood runs red, its fleece is shed
its body hangs like a wet towelmary had a little lamb
she takes its lamb chops home
Power in Each Poem
Something which I found remarkable was that each poem spoke for itself. Sure, it is a collection which is cohesive. That did not distract John Thompson from individualising each poem. The form used is unique, specific for the tone and message of the poem. Some poems are only two lines long, and others are dispersed over two or three pages. Each poem, no matter it's length, gave a lot of substance on which I could reflect. To show this, I am including my absolutely favourite poem from the collection (the greenman, p.93).
the greenman
there are flowers
that grow from your mouth.
they rip
your lips, your smile
widens---
your teeth glimmer through blood,
small stones
in a red river. they touch your eyes
& taste your lens: tender,
they are vulnerable. your irises
smear under the pressure.
your skull fractures
& blooms. roots grow
from your nostrils. your body
becomes large leaves.
Summary
Overall, this collection is a work of a mastermind poet. It is one of those gems that you put on your bookshelf and look through from time to time. Comparing it with other poetry books I have read, I would put this as one of the best. It is longer than the usual collections that I have read, and it keeps escalating and remains interesting throughout. No form or theme is overly-used, and each poem was freshly served.
Disclaimer:
I know the author of this book through allpoetry.com. He emailed me a free PDF copy of this book. Having said that, this review is as honest as I can be, and it reflects my perception of the collection and not any bias I hold towards it or the author.
I received permission from the author to publish this review, including the poems featured.