Astronaut

by Brian Henry

Card Wrappers

Genres: Poetry

68 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2000

Reviews

[Andy Stallings · Rating 1 out of 5]

About the only thing speaking in favor of this collection is that it's at least a first book. But even that -- while I can't fault him for publishing it, since the opportunity apparently arose -- he probably shouldn't have (unfair!). I finished it because I've decided to read all of his books, but wouldn't have otherwise. And finishing it, found very little sense of a coherent architecture to the book (in spite of its division into sections and other things which indicate that there was some consideration), a lot of poems which clunked very, very hard, and some others which were at least eh. But typically, even the poems which might otherwise have turned out accomplished were ruined for me by the poor judgment on individual lines that I associate with many authors in the Carnegie Mellon series, or by the poet's self-awareness (in the negative sense) as one writing a poem. Not really much to recommend this. But at least he's come a long, long way. Which is encouraging, right?