Druthers

by Jennifer Moxley

With Robert Herrick and Lightnin' Hopkins as her guides, Jennifer Moxley records in these bold new poems midlife's little losses, the subtle joys of a sweet marriage, and the give-and-take of the poet's vocation. Direct in speech, full of wit and erotic exuberance, and never refusing the temptations of a double entendre, Druthers reassesses the purpose and pleasures of poetry. While navigating her way out of "deep blues and dark woods," Moxley has written some of her most masterful work yet.

Genres: Poetry

89 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Electronic Poetry Center Author page:
http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/moxley...

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This moment trumps a thousandfold
Those chubby maiden days
Courting gloomy moodiness
Beneath Parisian gray.
And though I never tarried,
My rose was often plucked,
To tell it I was weary
No matter who I fucked.

from Blue Chirp

Just because something is popular
doesn't necessarily make it bad.
Topping salads, toasts, and pastas
with a cheery egg, fried or poached,
though all the rage, is irresistible
and inexpensive, a fashion that
channels our nostalgia for old diners
and "breakfast served all day."

----

The classics are bossy and know
their mind. "A dry hamburger
is not acceptable" (Marion Cunningham),
"Pour this over the fish and rush it
to the table. Not a dish to be kept
hanging around" (Jane Grigson).

from The Honest Cook's Insomnia

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this probably just barely a notch less than Moxley's recent two books, Clampdown and The Open Secret, but all three are the books of Jennifer Moxley's mastery, and there are things to admire, the aphorisms, the votary poems to the orders of poetry, and best of all her essay on cooking, "The Honest Cook's Insomnia," that seems to be a fully achieved thing. You recall in moments that Moxley has her orders. The whole collection is taken up in pride of its being a minor literary performance. It is quite explicit about this, in case anyone's -- and no, we weren't -- asking. It's worth a question whether the local finds its substitution in the votary, as well as the formal. I'm in her sway as much as anyone, I'd gather.