Moving Day

by Ish Klein

Poetry. MOVING DAY is the second collection by acclaimed poet Ish Klein. In this book, the poet deepens her commitment to socially-engaged lyricism, as she directly confronts the darkest sources of conflict and shared suffering while also investigating and celebrating the relationships that help us deal with personal, societal, and environmental ills. Like Whitman and O'Hara before her, Klein is a poet of camaraderie and boundless love. "Kids need each other. / Better they never get / separated entirely."

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Jeffrey Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathless, sensitive and “devilish,” the Poetry Foundation’s blog describes Ish Klein’s poetry as “mawkishly sentimental and lyrically poignant.” Her films are billed as “excellent — if extremely bizarre.” Welcome to a parallel universe where you find your doppelganger auditioning for a puppet show.
Someone in a fanciful tiger suit stands waving at us from the cover of Moving Day. This is an apt image for acclimatizing yourself to what lies ahead. Prepare to merge identities on multiple levels in an ongoing, pitched battle with boredom and meaning.
The title sheds several layers of interpretation as motion and emotion interact. Playful and open-ended, ever on a quest, it is imperative to “Remain mobile.”
Klein charts a program of action and effort while slyly integrating arenas. History, nature and self-analysis intertwine with “a nutty someone inside.”
Actors, friends, family and “screens” add metaphor and structure to the percolating vernacular. By turns charming, disarming and disembodied, Klein transports us in an affected, hypnotic, fairy tale confessor mode. Her audience and cast of characters ride a mobius strip, trading places seamlessly.
“You have to work to learn to fight to learn to work….” The scribe plunges in, letting the poetry lead like an electrifying, quivering current. The internal censor seems shut off and the consequent convolutions in the narrative lead to surprising and satisfying conclusions. “I am a channel and it’s challenging.”

[Cynthia Arrieu-King]

I love how this book made me think both of Berryman with the ramped up voice and sounds, Koch's quirkiness and Whitman's wateriness.

[Stevie Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good! I really like Klein's writing style, even though I do feel like I only half understood some of the poems she wrote. That’s one of my favorite forms of poetry tho; you gotta write an essay and do some research to understand. And I've always loved english class 👀

[tillie lefforge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incantations! Read them out loud!

Faves: we will free each other, smoke outside, the mask, an actual family, personal ad, people come and stay

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I picked it up in a used bookstore initially because it was described as being like Whitman, and Leaves of Grass is one of my favorite volumes of poetry ever. Unlike Whitman, however, Klein's poetry is not rooted enough in every day concrete things for my tastes. i was curious about the poet's gender identity as there were bits that suggested she might be trans. There were phrases here and there that I liked (see below for examples), but overall they didn't build to cohesive whole poems. I was disappointed. Also she overuses ALL CAPS. This is definitely one that I'll get rid of by listing on Bookmooch.

"Okay. I'm not happy about the fact that I officially smoke. It's a bad habit. Not a defeat; actually, a bit of a transfer. Before I drank too much. But also I'm not smoking that much. After all, there needs to be something to look forward to-a pleasant sensation on the horizon." (From Smoke Outside)

"One wonders how it happens: the expansion of comfortable useless stuff: phoniness or foam: fire retardants." (From They Return From Russia)

***This one is my favorite***

"If the sky is the heart of the land and the earth your cherished bed, if air current your spirit and the city your tomb, if waves are made and babies cry when say stuff, you are alive." (From Armadillo)

An Actual Family (great title pretty good overall poem), Promissory Notes (ditto),

"I've kept a card of energy, wildness saved from childhood. Of this secret, one must be silent, so the sun can trust us. Kids need each other. Better they never get separated entirely." (From Promissory Notes)

Personal Ad (favorite poem in collection?)

"Poetry isn't supposed to make money because that would be counterfeit." (From Moving Day)

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome cover design concealing poems that are surprisingly good--surprising because I picked up this book completely on a whim. I confess I'm saying I 'read' this book even though I didn't read all of the poems. I didn't read the 'title track' yet. Instead I photocopied it, to be read later, after I've had time to chew on the other ones. If something is so good that you skip part of it in order to savor it later, that's pretty good. I'd recommend this one.

[Camille Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“. . . Klein’s poems exude personality, and that inimitable voice of hers makes them fun to read. It’s what Frank O’Hara might have sounded like if he had texted his poems. . .”

Read more at Rogue Embryo:
The Self vs. Apollo the Dork: Ish Klein’s “WE WILL FREE EACH OTHER”

[c · Rating 1 out of 5]

starts off well enough with the Gertrude Steinlike "There is a Swell Now" but abruptly shifts into poetry which is both nauseatingly giddy and mindnumbingly boring