I Want to Be Once

by M.L. Liebler

In I Want to Be Once , M. L. Liebler approaches current events with a journalistic eye and a poet's response. Part autobiographical, part commentary, the lines of Liebler's poems come hard-hitting, but not without moments of great tenderness and humanity. Ordered into three sections, I Want To Be Once provides readers with a look into the author's personal life, as well as our collective history as a nation vis-a-vis the American media. The first section, called "American Life," captures the experience of coming of age in working-class 1960s America and helps to paint the picture of Liebler's early political involvement. The poems in the second section, "American War," focus on the author's cultural work in Afghanistan for the U.S. State Department; Liebler successfully captures the sad realities and fleeting stability of everyday life in Kabul, Jalalabad, and Kandahar. In the final section, "American Psalms," the short, satirical poems muse on present-day American society, culture, and the arts. In these poems, Liebler remarks on everything from public education to public radio to Russia's feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot and more. The poems in I Want to Be Once are emotionally grounding but punctuated with a humor that keeps things in perspective. Readers with an interest in poetry and social commentary will be drawn to this engaging collection.

Genres: Poetry

314 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2016

Reviews

[loverofbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

M.L. Liebler is a good friend of my Dad's and served as a mentor to him as he embarked on his own writing career. I've been wanting to read his poetry for awhile and this didn't disappoint. Thought provoking, raw, and honest, Liebler's "I Want to be Once" is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 paints a picture of his life growing up in the 60's in Detroit. Part 2 portrays his cultural work in Kabul and Jalalabad and the reality of the war our country's so deeply rooted in. And Part 3 is a collection of satirical poems of present-day American society, culture, and art.

[Ashley]

DNF

[Melanie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildly uneven. I absolutely adored the first section "American Life" about mourning the loss of his grandparents and the blue collar working life in Michigan. Full disclosure: I'm biased since I share Liebler's Michigan story. The poem "Underneath My American Face" is one of my favorite poems of all time, reminds me of my grandfather every time I read it.

Frankly I skipped a lot of the poetry in the middle section "American War." I get that it's part of the American experience but it doesn't seem to be part of Liebler's personal narrative and ends up sounding forced and preachy. And then the last part "American Psalms" ... while I agree with Liebler's position and what he expresses, it's just not his best work. They're more like Facebook rants and and vignettes he'd tell at a reading, not the blood, sweat and tears of the epic poetry of which Liebler is capable.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems from a Detroit author. The first segment sorta made me sad because the poems seemed to be about grief and rememberance of those the author had lost. The middle segment featured poems about visiting war torn Afghanistan. The last segment were short rifts on various things.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most excellent poetry collection, both profound and accessible, and entirely of the moment. The American Psalms are noteworthy for their witty and incisive observations of present day follies.

[Patb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hard time reviewing poetry as it is not my thing. Some of the poems made me feel sad. Some of them made me smile.


Read Harder Challenge 2019 - A collection of poetry published since 2014