Rhode Island Notebook

by Gabriel Gudding

Not since On the Road has a book been more thoroughly of the road. Unlike Kerouac's novel, however, this book was literally written on the road in Gudding's own car, on pad and paper while driving. Rhode Island Notebook is the handwritten account of one driver's journey to happiness in the face of grief. This book-length poem chronicles the break-up of a family and the separation of a father and daughter, while at the same time recording the rise of jingoism in the United States in the moments before and during the invasion of Iraq.

Genres: Poetry

436 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2007

Reviews

[Laurel Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start this review by quoting another reviewer (and obviously a past student of Gabe's as well), mostly because it is so well put, so please allow the following from Jess on Goodreads:

"This prose poem book--transcribed directly from a notebook handwritten on the road--accounts both the thoughts and cross-country journeys of the author as he travels between his daughter in Rhode Island and his home in Normal, Illinois.

This is very much Gabe in book form. He'll follow a lovely insight on family or sadness by the time and highway route or a thought on the war in Iraq or an odd thought on Nancy Raegan. Written for his daughter, it's personal and at times indulgent. How could it not be?

His writing format lends itself to flaws: lack of editing plus moments of mundane, of repetition, of mileage. He'll briefly mention a topic then abandon it, often leaving me craving more. His attempt succeeds but this results (sometimes) in reader frustration.

This book is not for all readers but it is perfect for some."

It is difficult to put into words how this book made me feel, mostly because it made me a feel a lot of things. As the above review suggests, this book isn't for everyone, but I argue that it could be if you're willing to keep an open mind and suppress your expectations for this epic collection. Can we just talk about the fact that he drove from Illinois to Rhode Island often, and straight through just to see his daughter? Can we talk about how not overly dramatic this book is despite being about divorce? And finally, can we just love that instead of wallowing in self pity we are taken on little diversions about dung, about other cultures, in history, little tales sparsely woven into what one can only imagine as a trying couple of years. There is such love in these pages, not anger, not feel bad for me, look at my life, instead there is magic, wonder, and hope on the road. This is such a tender collection I know I will revisit often.

[Raquel · Rating 1 out of 5]

don't ask

[Matthew D · Rating 5 out of 5]

One must dedicate the time to give this special piece of performative literature. it's due. I appreciate of the center of the premise being the phenomenon of travel and being nowhere especially.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This prose poem book--transcribed directly from a notebook handwritten on the road--accounts both the thoughts and cross-country journeys of the author as he travels between his daughter in Rhode Island and his home in Normal, Illinois.

This is very much Gabe in book form. He'll follow a lovely insight on family or sadness by the time and highway route or a thought on the war in Iraq or an odd thought on Nancy Raegan. Written for his daughter, it's personal and at times indulgent. How could it not be?

His writing format lends itself to flaws: lack of editing plus moments of mundane, of repetition, of mileage. He'll briefly mention a topic then abandon it, often leaving me craving more. His attempt succeeds but this results (sometimes) in reader frustration.

This book is not for all readers but it is perfect for some.

My three favorite lines:

I am in fact a hardware store: capable
of being practical and valuable to others.
p. 32

Sunset is barn music.
p. 362

...kaftans made
of berry smoke
p.378

[Alex Drogin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I’ve been reading for the past three years, and decided finally to buckle in and finish it.

Rhode Island Notebook contains some of the clearest examples in my mind of an author truly transcribing the contents of their head and the depth of their chest onto paper. Gudding’s exploration of grief, relationships, and the ways a mind wanders is moving and captivating in a way I’ve never before experienced. Somehow he is able to make long lists of advertisement and billboard messages seen on the road thrilling.

I wish my words could better explain my love for this book. I now know the story of Sitting Bull!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't feel like there's anything I can say about this book...I think it takes a special person to get through it and appreciate it, and if you're that person, you will love it. I loved it. I particularly liked the ideas of anabasis and katabasis, the descriptions of the sky and the terrain, and the darkly funny honesty about the severing of a family. It's super real and for once I understand "drawing out" the narrative...a divorce doesn't happen overnight. This book is a slow burn and there is a lot of wisdom to be found inside.

[Aaron Furmanek · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we drive, we have time. Often while we go places it is easy to forget that we have time to think, see, worry, and experience the distance between us and our destination. Rhode Island Notebook is a study in what happens when we are alone in a car with only our destination ahead of us. The book reflects on the experience of fatherhood, divorce, and the changing tide of the national psyche, all observed on repeated trips between Illinois and Rhode Island.

[Jeff T.]

If this entire book is as good as the first 32 pages (or doesn't get old), it will be one of my new favorites. The footnote essay on p. 14&15 is a fantastic commentary on Gudding's first book, A Defense of Poetry, and is itself a defense of poetry, and has me thinking about "comic destruction."

[Anthony Crupi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ★s. Certainly anyone is likely to get more than a little annoying over the course of what amounts to a 52,704-mile road trip, but there were times throughout the journey when I felt compelled to grab the wheel from Gudding's hands and steer his Toyota straight into oncoming traffic. There are moments of great beauty and sadness and technical virtuosity to savor here, but these are often neutralized by his sneering condescension and lazily scatological attempts at humor. Whenever he addresses the political climate of the times, Gudding sounds like a not-overbright freshman at Oberlin who ruins Thanksgiving dinner with his impenetrably dopey hot takes. His uncharitable reflections on the state of Indiana and all who call it home are pissy and mean-spirited, and reveal a worldview that often fails to rise above bumper-sticker philosophy. For all that, when he reverts to his default setting, in which he demonstrates a generosity and kindness commensurate with his intelligence, Gudding is fine company.
tldr; Knock it off already with the shitting on the Hoosier State, dude: You live in fucking Illinois.

[Frank Karioris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Politics, details, divorce, and things left unsaid. Road to and from, with limited of the "there".

[Samantha Terrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, unique concept for a collection. I admire Gudding's work.

[Jac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man. If all poetry read like this it wouldn't be so marginalized.

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book--a book-length poem of multiple road trips and the fragmentative (is that a word) thoughts that occur along the way.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Staggering. A near-perfect approximation of the road and its velocities, the heart and its climates. The antidote to a post-Sebald longing for something to set me ablaze.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

for what its worth, a candid response to the road, though dangerous in scope.