Something New, Something Broken

In a world where the art forms of poetry and prose have become virtually indistinguishable from one another, author Daniel Radmacher makes a bold and unpredictable choice. Rather than running away from meter and rhyme and getting stuck in the quicksand of modern conventionality, Radmacher embraces them both in his own characteristic way, much like his imagined mentors Robert Frost, W.D. Snodgrass and Jean Garrigue. The result is that meter crackles throughout his poems with life and energy without drawing attention to itself. Exploring themes of faith, parenting, disillusionment, loss and hope, Radmacher manages to lasso rhyme and force it to serve his own purposes, avoiding the typically banal and sophomoric affect of end-rhyme and undercutting the reader's expectations. In 'Running Down Orion's Belt,' Radmacher constructs the poem in strict iambic pentameter, but then modifies the line lengths to remove any singsong affect and create a destabilizing yet intimate portrait of a modern existential moment. In a nod to Romantic poets like Emily Dickinson, 'Would You Write a Letter for Me?' adapts the soothing predictability of a highly stylized, Romantic approach to verse, but conceals a touching surprise ending that pulls the rug out from underneath the reader. And in 'Orpheus Descending,' the poem fairly oozes with internal rhyme, greasing the path for the reader to be lured down into Hades after the mythical character. The collection also contains a triumvirate of first-person biblical portraits, 'Tabitha,' 'The Visitation,' and 'Malchus' that challenge the humdrum aspect of Sunday School renditions in favor of highly deconstructed and imaginative accounts. Also noteworthy is 'Something In-Between', a poem in which Radmacher uses his own real-life colorblindness to take a life-affirming look at LGBTQ+ and transgender issues. Interestingly, he also makes a brief foray into the 'terza rima' form, a structure of interlocking rhyme first pioneered by Dante in The Inferno, that rarely sees the light of day because of its inherent complexity of execution. An accomplished songwriter, Radmacher also includes a section of lyrics from songs that he has composed, songs that clearly straddle the boundary between poetry and songwriting. All in all, this collection weaves through so many different styles and genres, Radmacher will simply not allow the reader to become bored, while all the time insisting that she experience the art form of poetry through the eyes of a lover of the classic art form.