Forum / Pointed Sentences by Bill Yarrow

• 
  Darryl Price

  Jun 16, 03:40am

  Pointed Sentences by Bill Yarrow

  A Review by Darryl Price

  Bill Yarrow is the best poet I know of, and I know of a lot of poets. He delights each and every time. He’s not a cruel teacher, but he holds a sturdy birch. He builds his wonderful monuments out of words to the ancient needs of expression and energy (“we think in eternity/but move slowly through/time”). His poems appear like hovering bee hives, like the blueprints for ancient Mayan ruins, like fun puzzles, like suddenly there flowers, like deeply whispering trees(we need to crumble/our blossoms and buds/in our hands/who has felt/that powder/and been unhappy?”). In other words, his poems greet us, feed us, heal us, kick us out of the nest, and most importantly connect us together—back to something basic, innate, real, true and lasting (“The first time a poem sharpened you”). They sing, laugh, make fun, cry(“the rich ricochet of loss”) and dance, but they always invite you to climb up the hill with the poet to look at the stars or just sit and feel the breezes within and without ourselves(“a fireman holding an ice pick/adjusts the volume.”). Can it get any better than that? He’s a good man without trying too hard to make the beautiful point stick inside your head (“you think diction is a slick fish/I believe in scouring the sea with spears”). No easy trick, but Bill always gives it the smooth finish (“I will photograph the tree in its demise, upended in swart disarray.”). Please, I beg you, read this book, savor it, give it to your best friends, secretly plant it in the world wherever you go, just for the sake of growing something worthwhile for any others who might hunger and thirst for such magical beans(“The world gives birth to triplets./People drop hot pennies into your hat,”) in their pocket . Just listen to these few instances with me: “the pillow like a wave bleeding back into the ocean…the deserted/battlefield he has had tattooed on his future…envy’s initials on his heart…in the iron/sky, the ivory birds are still the birds…Can you taste the jade dragonflies emblazoned on the walls?” Well, can you? Me,too. One last one:”In my dreams, I am awake most of the night.” With poetry this good, it’s no wonder. dp

• 
  Bill Yarrow

  Jun 16, 02:16pm

  Thank you, Darryl, for these kind and poetic words. We're mutual fans, you know, and I deeply appreciate your enthusiasm for the book.

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  Joani Reese

  Jun 16, 02:53pm

  What a kind and wonderful tribute to Bill's excellent work, DP. Who wouldn't want a DP review so fine? A poetic take on a poet's work, and true, true, true.

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  Darryl Price

  Jun 16, 03:27pm

  Here's another I just can't forget:"I'm decades in and it hasn't gone away." Amen,brother.

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  Sam Rasnake

  Jun 16, 03:35pm

  It's a great collection. Enjoyed your take on these poems, DP.

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  David Ackley

  Jun 16, 05:32pm

  NIce tribute, Darryl. And well-deserved.

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  Gary Hardaway

  Jun 17, 02:57pm

  Buy the book. Open it to any page. Read a real poem. Great craft, sure, but also great imagination and the mastery of the worlds between words.

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  Matthew A. Hamilton

  Jun 17, 03:35pm

  Congratulations Bill.

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  Gloria Mindock

  Jun 18, 01:20pm

  Darryl-

  What a wonderful and thoughtful review of Bill's book. It is a great book and deserves this. I just love what you wrote about his book and how you wrote it. I am so happy to see this for Bill.

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