The Disparities

by Rodrigo Toscano

In this, his first full collection of poetry, Rodrigo Toscano explores "how things wouldn’t happen." The Disparities brings together official and unofficial histories that view one another to expose new meanings that are created between, what Toscano calls, "the gaps." Time, in this highly original work of poetry, is "unwound," revealing new significance for all the things of the world. Rodrigo Toscano ’s poetry has been published previously in numerous journals, where he has garnered a large audience. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Genres: Poetry

90 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jason Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great teacher of mine once said, "Never let the author beat you." I tried and tried again to make sure that didn't happen with this book. I think I won. What the author has attempted is to make the context of his specifics available to the reader in an attempt to seem "everyman" at the same time his specifics become more and more specific. This is not a new tactic in poetry, but the failure is the author is not linking subjects together like John Berryman or even Ezra Pound. His topics change; his focus changes. We are not building to a conclusion that is foreseeable by the reader.

I did really get into the poems "Circular No.6," "Journal," and "non-confidential memos." I was dissapointed each time. Where he is accute, he should be smart. Where he is accute, he needs to be friendly. This is obviously a poetic talent, the author has ideas and he can make single words and two word phrases hold your attention, but he has not achieved anything in this volume other than to display his talent. We are not blessed with a new voice in this work.

[H]

"Irrevocable, the copper sun, ears/ Xerox, eyes, the minutes, holy clamor" (7)

"It's good/ getting tough/ getting closer" (67)

"sounds like religion/ feels like industry/ is neither" (71)