Aikansa kutakin

by Hal Sirowitz, Arto Leivo (Translator)

Yhdysvaltain bestseller-runoilija, jonka aiemmat teokset Äiti sanoi ja Terapeuttini sanoi ovat olleet sekä Yhdysvalloissa että Suomessa myyntimenestyksiä.

Hal Sirowitzin uusimman runokokoelman Aikansa kutakin aiheena on erotiikka ja seksi. Hal kertoo nuoruutensa ja aikuisuutensa rakkauselämän myötä- ja vastoinkäymisistä woodyallenmaisella, kuivakan ironisella tyylillä.

Genres: Poetry

127 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2003

About the author

Hal Sirowitz has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship is a 2003-2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow. In 2001, Sirowitz was named Poet Laureate of Queens, New York. His poems have been widely anthologized in collections such as Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems and in Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast. He has performed on MTV’s Spoken Word Unplugged, PBS’s Poetry Heaven, and NPR’s All Things Considered. Garrison Keillor has read Sirowitz’s work on NPR’s Writer’s Almanac. Sirowitz works as a special education teacher for the New York City public schools.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, love poems.

Odes and paeans, poesies and praises. Pretty words to prove the depth of one's feelings, to coax a smile to a dear one's face . . . to help the poet get laid. Oh, come on! You know that's probably the REAL reason half of history's poetry was written. Percy Bysshe Shelley wanted to get his ashes hauled.

With this collection of poetry, Hal Sirowitz manages cut right to the heart genitals of the matter. That's right. The title refers to before, during and after S-E-X. These being modern times, many of the poems deal with the will-you-call-me-later aspect of the glorious union. There are also discussions of how to dispose of the condom, including how not to spill its contents.

Tall Tale

Make sure you flush the condom
down the toilet, she said. You
don't have to worry about an alligator
eating it & choking to death, There
aren't any alligators living in the sewers.
It's just an urban legend. Your father
probably told you that, because he
didn't want you spending too much time
on the toilet. He probably needed to sit there.


Favoring the Nose

The fact that you had to hide your penis
from other men, she said, whenever
you used the lockers or bathrooms
makes you want to show it
to me more. But I'd
rather look at your nose.
At least when something comes out
of it you cover it up
with a handkerchief. You don't get it all over me.

And there's also some advice here that men would be wise to heed:


Sliding in the Pie

Women need more time than men
to get ready for sex, she said.
You can't just turn on the oven
& slide in a pie. You have
to preheat it first by fidgeting
with the temperature control
to make sure it's as hot as it says it is.

While not as funny as the author's Mother Said and Father Said: Poems, these poems are still worth a look. Perhaps you could read them with your sweetie on Valentine's Day. If you're still together afterwards, you'll know it's a destiny kind of thing.

When Your Hand Is Your True Lover

Even if our relationship didn't
work out, she said, at least you
got something from it --- a nice
long break from masturbating.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the poems in this volume are about sexual relationships. Sirowitz is a local NY poet (once Poet Laureate of Queens) who has found some pockets of fame (on NPR and, oddly, in Norway). His punchy poems are wry, often raucously funny, vignettes that track through the four sections of the book from dating and first nights through to breakup. They don’t offer much insight or accumulate into a complex portrait of human relations. I think of Sirowitz more of a satirist than a poet. His little narratives are deceptively ordinary, like an startling observation or complaint you might overhear on a subway or on the street. “Did any of your former girlfriends / ever tell you, she said, that you / have sex on the brain? That’s / all you think about. I’m sure / they weren’t as frank as me. / Instead of telling you, / they just stopped seeing you.” Or: “Each time I’ve come to this bar, / she said, I’ve seen you here. / You look like you come here often. / You must be having trouble finding / a steady girlfriend. I hope you / don’t think I’m being critical. / I can’t find a partner either. / I go to different bars, so it isn’t as obvious.” Or: “I’ve noticed that the amount of times / you’ve been kissing me, she said, / has been declining at a steady rate / the more we have sex. I’m hoping / it doesn’t stop altogether. Sex / without kissing is like a gift you forgot to wrap.” Or: “Even if our relationship didn’t / work out, she said, at least you / got something from it—a nice / long break from masturbating.” And, yes, the “she said” conversational structure is Sirowitz’s signature. Previous collections were called: “Mother Said” and “My Therapist Said” and “Father Said.”

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting collection of poems. Sorowitz has captured the spirit of a character almost without ever writing about that character. His poems so thoroughly express how others relate to the persona that we gain a sense of who he is.

Stylistically, these poems are short and pithy, making the book a really quick read. Sorowitz blends a fabulous sense of humor into the poems, even those describing the most gut wrenching rejection and personal criticism. Absloutely a fantastic poet, and I intend to read more by him.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of short "comment" poems from a woman talking about "before, during, and after" sex. Some of these are wise and insightful and others less so. Many are humorous, but most reflect the casual, shallow, uncommitted, and recreational approach to sexual intercourse in which many people indulge today. Although they may seem simple and shallow at first reading they really do have depth and value

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. True. Funny.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny short poems.