Lowly

by Alan Felsenthal

Poetry. LOWLY is part invocation, part invitation. The poems in this debut collection consider death, rebirth, and love, while exploring the symbols that make life bearable. Here, ancient mythology and philosophy are examined through contemporary situations, brought forth by a voice that oscillates between humorous and plaintive tones "I invent stories. Out of other stories. I can only repeat what I have heard. // A scruple is the enemy of a moment." LOWLY is a restorative work with rhythmic lines that will resonate with the reader long after the book is closed."

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

PSALM

This will take a glacial slumber, to move
my foot for it suffers. When my foot suffers
I suffer and nothing less than sleep, different
from slumber, can take my eyes. In my heart
is a heifer, her dust, ashes that purify
my heart for touching a corpse. I touched
a corpse and it was my own, and since
then all I can do is slumber. Make amends.
‘Tis a fairy world inside my bones, keening
there in the world of ash is an ardent gleam,
which waits for polish like a smile. Make
a hill and keep it for the hope of help.
Never let the heavens, their earth, leave
you without help. Say I was just a boy
then and now I can hear the question.
Where is the water that bathes blemishes,
how can I get it to the heifer in my heart?


*

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Alan is a masterful craftsman. I feel totally and completely transported into another dimension when I read his work. A gift to the people...but also a gift to the Gods.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason I could not find entrance to these poems. I read and re-read them looking for a door or a window but the poems remained closed to me but some had a beautiful sound.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful collection of poems were incredible and at times haunting.  Pairing the contemporality of this text alongside its imageries of mythology creates an ideal image, one that offers up notions of rebirth and love.  It lilts, it rhymes, and it's certainly worth reading.  Overall, this text is imbued with meaning and discussions of life and its struggles, and it makes for a good time.

Review cross-listed here!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad I read these poems. I admit that they aren’t my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. It means they did not speak to me in ways that invited me in to the party. The author uses language well, he made me think about how I used language. It was thoughtful and interesting and mostly beyond me. I’m glad I made an effort though.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the coyness in which Felsenthal deploys his humor here. The first couple poems seem rather staid, heady exercises, but then you find yourself reading slippery rhymes aloud. Overall a great collection that matches Felsenthal's curatorial savvy at The Song Cave.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so lovely - an unique way of thinking/feeling about God. Current favorite poem's "My Domestic Poem" a kind of ode/curse on bedbugs.

[Jared Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only to you your pain is famous.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

fav poem: My Domestic Poem

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent!