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Seven Beats A Second
As originator of the seven beats a second project, I take for myself the pleasure of thanking people who have made the project possible. First is the artist half of seven beats a second , Vincent Martinez. Vince and I joined talents after I ask my son to see if any of his artist friends might want to work with me in creating a book. The result is here for all to see. Vince is an outstanding young artist with a great future and a vibrant and exciting sense of form and color.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 2005
3 people want to read
About the author
Allen Itz
9 books10 followersI invite you to take a look at my website at Seven Beats a Second, and while your there, click on the "Here and Now" link to visit my weekly poetry/literary/whatever blog.
Like lot of folks, I'm a second life poet. I first began to write poetry and had several published in the '69-'71 when I was back in school following military service. I didn't write again (except for a lot of business correspondence) until I retired in 1998. Since then I've had 200-300 poems published both on line and in print. I did my first book "Seven Beats a Second" in 2005 and am still working on a second one.
I'm originally from deep south Texas and managed to move all the way north to San Antonio 15 years ago. I'll be 64 years old next month, almost old enough to know better
Like lot of folks, I'm a second life poet. I first began to write poetry and had several published in the '69-'71 when I was back in school following military service. I didn't write again (except for a lot of business correspondence) until I retired in 1998. Since then I've had 200-300 poems published both on line and in print. I did my first book "Seven Beats a Second" in 2005 and am still working on a second one.
I'm originally from deep south Texas and managed to move all the way north to San Antonio 15 years ago. I'll be 64 years old next month, almost old enough to know better
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 3, 2011
There aren’t many poetry books out there with big, wild, splashy colorful illustrations and that’s too bad. You see, there’s just not enough imagination in poetry books these days. Besides the generic titles, boring book covers and pages and pages of self-absorbed ink, it’s a rare moment to come across a book that entertains as much as it sustains.
Too many poetry books try to be dead serious and just end up…dead. Some poetry books just want to be published, never mind that the poetry reads like a laundry list of sundry garments that had to be aired. Some poetry books try to be too clever or profound and punish the reader with all kinds of cerebral gymnastics with scholastics. These books are for avid fans of the author, or poets studying other poets of which I am guilty of being both. That’s fine and all. There’s a poetry book for every kind of taste and every die-hard poetry lover out there. Thank goodness because the shelf life of any poetry book is regrettably short—I think the life expectancy of a fly might be longer. So how do you make a book stand out and more importantly, memorable? You write a poetry book that competes with the best of recipe books: You write, Seven Beats a Second and illustrate it with wonderful images that happen to coincide with the words and bingo, you have “gotta dance”
That poem lands on page 55 and it’s illustrated with a rabbit in blue overalls, (all paintings by Vincent Martinez), and for some reason the poem and illustration tickle me every time I read that poem because I’m envisioning this rabbit thumping madly, gyrating and dancing away because he’s so happy. Memory works best with word-imagery associations. But if illustrations were all that there was to making poetry books successful then any poet could hire or befriend an artist in the same manner a poet might solicit another colleague to write up a blurb or an endorsement. The illustrations merely help much in the same way photos of an exotic dish help to associate “delicious” with a recipe. Ultimately, the poems made up of words have to click with the reader and the firmer those words lodge into our collective senses, the fiercer a book imprints itself unto our emotions and paves the way for the reader to become attached to a book for sentimental reasons. Seven Beats a Second rewards the reader with down-to-earth, folksy narrative poems that are at once rambling and laconic, reflective and somber, humorous and wise as in the poem, “rethinking the probabilities of god”
But what is most admirable is that the poems are so unapologetic and unpretentious. Allen Itz’s poems are skillful negotiations with words that connect the reader to the call of poetry that is life. They make me feel right at home. To balance out this review, I have one complaint about Allen Itz: He’s too damn humble about his poetry. He should have had fifteen books or better published by now.
Too many poetry books try to be dead serious and just end up…dead. Some poetry books just want to be published, never mind that the poetry reads like a laundry list of sundry garments that had to be aired. Some poetry books try to be too clever or profound and punish the reader with all kinds of cerebral gymnastics with scholastics. These books are for avid fans of the author, or poets studying other poets of which I am guilty of being both. That’s fine and all. There’s a poetry book for every kind of taste and every die-hard poetry lover out there. Thank goodness because the shelf life of any poetry book is regrettably short—I think the life expectancy of a fly might be longer. So how do you make a book stand out and more importantly, memorable? You write a poetry book that competes with the best of recipe books: You write, Seven Beats a Second and illustrate it with wonderful images that happen to coincide with the words and bingo, you have “gotta dance”
shirt off
chest glistening
sweat-wet hair long
swinging as he dances
atop the amp rack
twenty feet in the air
arms pumping feet pumping ….
it’s the music
he says
can’t you hear it
gotta dance
man
That poem lands on page 55 and it’s illustrated with a rabbit in blue overalls, (all paintings by Vincent Martinez), and for some reason the poem and illustration tickle me every time I read that poem because I’m envisioning this rabbit thumping madly, gyrating and dancing away because he’s so happy. Memory works best with word-imagery associations. But if illustrations were all that there was to making poetry books successful then any poet could hire or befriend an artist in the same manner a poet might solicit another colleague to write up a blurb or an endorsement. The illustrations merely help much in the same way photos of an exotic dish help to associate “delicious” with a recipe. Ultimately, the poems made up of words have to click with the reader and the firmer those words lodge into our collective senses, the fiercer a book imprints itself unto our emotions and paves the way for the reader to become attached to a book for sentimental reasons. Seven Beats a Second rewards the reader with down-to-earth, folksy narrative poems that are at once rambling and laconic, reflective and somber, humorous and wise as in the poem, “rethinking the probabilities of god”
it's not the fox holes
that persuade us
we were all immortal
then and dumb
as the dirt that
grew wet with the
surprise of our blood
it's driving past
the old folk's home
knowing,
they're making
a bed up for you
But what is most admirable is that the poems are so unapologetic and unpretentious. Allen Itz’s poems are skillful negotiations with words that connect the reader to the call of poetry that is life. They make me feel right at home. To balance out this review, I have one complaint about Allen Itz: He’s too damn humble about his poetry. He should have had fifteen books or better published by now.
January 13, 2008
Allen is an incredible writer and I feel blessed to have "met" him online, initially from the Blueline Poetry website. One of the poetry challenges at Blueline offered this book as a prize, if you followed certain guidelines in your submitted poem. I didn't follow the instructions in my poem (such a rebel), but Allen, being so kind and generous, granted my request and sent me his book anyway! I am so grateful he did; Allen's writings are uniquely creative visions which invoke powerful imagery and are perfect for anyone who can appreciate a passionate artist's gift for inspiring us to look past the mundane.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews