Eavesdrop Soup

by Matt Cook

In this outrageous second volume of distinctive poetry, spoken word Slam champ Matt Cook tackles science ("Static Electricity"), geography ("Pittsburgh"), and death ("Oblong Strongboxes"), among other topics. Observing life perceptively both globally ("Goat Transaction") and locally ("The Man Across the Street"), Cook's writing is smart and funny, with a subtext of serious social commentary.

Selections from this book have been heard on Garrison Keillor's Writers Almanac, broadcast on NPR.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

Published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book from life-observer Matt Cook is insightful in its day-to-day musings.

[Melipstick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't hesitate! it's funny, sad, insightful, smart, and dumb. Amazing!

[Abigail Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool pavement.

[Bjorn Sorensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Cook's poetic style of repetition often creates an irresistible rhythm and a basis for what appears on the surface to be nonsensical theory. At times the repetition is annoying and distracting. But then, isn't our society annoying and distracting to begin with? This poet understands:

An Obligation

Just look at the Seeing Eye dog!
So trustworthy, the Seeing Eye dog!
Never a moment's doubt about the Seeing Eye dog!
Yet surely the Seeing Eye dog could be corrupted by, say, succulent meats.
Surely the introduction of, say, delicious sausage,
At the exact right moment, could distract the dog
Just as his master is moving toward oncoming traffic.
I read somewhere that Seeing Eye dog is actually a registered trademark-
I suppose the question then becomes:
What if the Seeing Eye dog had an obligation to its stockholders?

I was thinking the poem could be titled "Succulent Meats", but I'm so glad it's not. That tasty little morsel needs to surprise readers within the lines. Ditto for "moving toward oncoming traffic". The title is the theme - if the Seeing Eye dog's wages were cut, would the stockholders get bigger dividend checks? Not if the owner were killed, I guess, at least in the short term. So much to think about.

And that's the theme here, in a shiny nutshell wiggling across the table. Life is overwhelming in its complexity, the details upon details forced upon the modern man and woman. How can we have fulfilling, significant lives when there are so many commercials to read, weird people to watch, friends to make and lose?

I hesitate to give ultra super five star ratings to books as repetitious in style as this one. But I severely enjoyed it all the same, finding humor and brilliance on every page. My eyebrows never crossed as I shared bits with friends and co-workers. It is a poet's job to put words to the absurd, to summarize the sound-filled darkness:

The Center of the Earth

....I actually saw the inside of a cow one time at a state fair.
They had a live cow there, and they had affixed a plastic window
To the side of its body, so that you could look in there,
And you could see the inside of a cow-
But it was no longer darker than the inside of a cow in there,
Because they had affixed that window,
Which was flooding a lot of light inside the cow,
Which was obscuring the reality of the cow, the poetry of the cow.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and fun and just how I think. I loved it. And I would probably write more about it but all you really need to know is that this book is a great read and it will make all of your dreams come true. No, I don't think that's an exaggeration.

[eve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Didn't feel it much.