Boom Box

by Amorak Huey

“If poems are magic, then the poems of Boom Box are rife with the magic of childhood in guitar-solo riffs of splendor and nostalgia. Amidst sweeping narratives, the past stands as a monument to be worshipped instead of forgotten. The sorrow, the thrill, the sex, the music, and the awkwardness, are all captured as if in time capsules—these are poems of loss and marrow and place, of time and the wars it wields. They are profound in their honesty, bittersweet, heartbreaking, yet redemptive. Like a stadium-rock anthem. Like the song thrumming in the background of a life that testifies ‘to love a place is to leave it behind.’”

—Chelsea Dingman, author of What Bodies Have I Moved and Thaw

Genres: Poetry

81 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2019

Reviews

[Mike]

I think what makes me uneasy about these poems—which are about boyhood, fathers, divorce, the Cahaba River, green skies, Alabama, religion, Pabsts between thighs, brothers, desire, hair metal, action movies, loneliness, the self-absorption of teenaged boys, small-town life, home, manhood—is how much they remind me of my own boyhood. I think this same unease exists in the poems, or maybe around them. Are these confession? Catharsis, perhaps? Are these meant with compassion towards the boy described, or condemnation? Or both? I’m uneasy remembering the way that my own search for myself as an adolescent so often meant failing or refusing to see other people and especially the girls I knew as more than characters in my own story—this is very much a part of these poems. Do these poems represent a growth past that kind of objectification? Or do they reinscribe it? Or both? It’s hard to say. What I can say is that these poems made me feel a lot of things in a lot of directions.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection of poems by Amorak Huey. For anyone looking for a bit of 80s nostalgia, mixed in with the gorgeous poetry we've come to expect from Amorak, look no further than Boom Box.

From Portrait of My Brother as Indiana Jones: "and a girl in a sweater with love on her eyelids - / yet every adventure ends / in the same weary surprise, / the same aching temples / ... / because the only threats that matter / were inside all along."

from The Older Brother's Guide to Cheating at Monopoly: "My parents had enough, but we would not quit. / Eventually they divided their properties between us, / returned to the dismantling of their marriage,"

Overall, a wonderful collection full of memories and nostalgia and emotion. Definitely pick this one up.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poems, mostly about Huey's growing up in rural AL. So most of the poems are soaked in the late seventies, and more often, in the 80s, struggling with masculinity, a girl or girls, cars, etc. These are poems about being a young man.

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, rich poems of depth, power, family, and 80s pop culture. Really hit home.

[GK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot be neutral on this collection, not because I partially grew up with Amorak (post this period), but because the life described here is bone-deep and fits like my own skin. I was punk because everyone else was metal, but Amorak captures the place and time so well that it rockets me back. I am undone with the same desire to escape I had then.

[Sara S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A not-so-gentle reminder of what it's like to grow up in a small southern town. Huey's descriptions are so familiar, probably more to those growing up male but accessible to others as well. Warmth, fear, love, lust, lessons both lost and learned, it's a treasure.

[Amanda Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgia mixed with loneliness.

[Allison Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poems about music and how it—and anything and everything—can make you feel and relive your youth. I dog eared many pages to come back to the poems and sit with them longer.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing work by my favorite poet.