Mad River

by Jan Beatty

"In every poem, she keeps her fury contained, but omnipresent, so that it resembles a cornered dog's warning growl, yet she hints of happier possibilities." --Booklist "Beatty does offer deeply visceral and sensory work, especially in the second and third sections of this three-part book. . . . She risks relative boldness and deep emotional commitment, disregarding political correctness in respect for this less readily sanitized realm of experience." --Publishers Weekly "Her poems speak to us head-on, with courage and a contemporaneous eloquence." --Yusef Komunyakaa "Raw, energetic, gritty, risky, sexy, and real. . . . The power of these short narratives is often cumulative, building a vision of the world seen through the eyes of a wanderer, a woman, a waitress." --Dorianne Laux Jan Beatty, winner of the 2000 Creative Achievement Award from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, has also won two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She has held jobs as a welfare caseworker, a rape counselor, and a nurse's aide. She has worked in maximum security prisons, hoagie huts, burger joints, jazz clubs, and diners. Her chapbook, Ravenous, won the 1995 State Street Press Chapbook Prize. Her latest collection, Boneshaker, was published in 2002 by the University of Pittsburgh Press.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Beatty kicks ass. Her poetry kicks ass. That may not be a very intellectual review, but it's accurate. People from Pittsburgh and those not should love this book.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Beatty is a narrative poet of ordinary, working class people, a witness to the joys and sorrows of everyday life. Her writing is full of sass, insight, and truth. She speaks the truth of many women who came of age in the 60s, that time in-between being an obedient, “good” girl, and wanting more, wanting to be wild, to take chances, to risk everything.
Riding down Highway 99 on the back
of a cobalt blue Harley, no helmet,
with some guy named Wild Bill, my red
bandanna snapping in the hot night air,
a six pack of Pabst in the saddlebags,
I knew I had found the slick heart
of freedom,
(Highway 99)

Beatty excels at capturing the minute details that evoke time and place. Her hometown of Pittsburgh shows up frequently. The urban landscape and culture of the steel mills informs much of her writing.
On Sarah Street on the South Side,
the old woman still stands with her broom, imagining
the air full of lug and swish from the steelworker’s boot,
armies of gray lunchbuckets grace her thoughts
as she sweeps with the part of her that still believes;
(Pittsburgh Poem)

Family is also present in several poems. In “Watching My Father,” Beatty describes observing her father as he “looks out the picture window.” The poem ends with a radiation session.
This is the summer his chest is burning.
Technicians scorch him, aiming their machines
at the webs in his chest, the spot near his heart
where his lungs breathed the steel mills,
And then, after her father’s death, Beatty writes about keeping his t-shirts.
Sometimes at night when I can’t sleep,
I go to the bag and sort through them,
hold them to my face
and say hello.
(T-Shirts)

Mad River won the 1995 Agnes Lynch Starrett prize, and it’s easy to see why; Beatty’s word choices sizzle, and her writing is tight. She makes her world so real that you are sure you know the people you are reading about.

[Jed Kudrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fierce and vivid exploration of working-class life by Jan Beatty, filled with the raw emotions and experiences of everyday people. Beatty's poetry bursts with sassy, authentic narratives, capturing the spirit of Pittsburgh and the tumultuous journey of women seeking freedom and adventure in a changing world. Her ability to weave the small, telling details of a place or moment makes each poem a powerful evocation of time and space. Whether depicting the grit of steel mill towns or the intimacy of family loss, Beatty's words sizzle with honesty and heart. This collection is a must-read, even for those who don’t usually gravitate toward poetry.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - an impressive collection. Powerful, personal, sometimes intimate, insightful, and moving. Will look for more books of poetry by this author. (Found this volume in Albuquerque.)

[Amy Kitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another poet whose book could be read by non-poetry people :) and not only understood but thoroughly enjoyed!

[Julene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and Jan Beatty's writing! Winner of the 1994 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize selected by Dorianne Laux. This book is full of gut-stirring, emotionally potent poems.