West Portal

by Benjamin Gucciardi

Winner of the 2020 Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize
 
West Portal is the name of the neighborhood in San Francisco, California, where poet Benjamin Gucciardi grew up. It is also one of the names of the Pillars of Heracles—the entryway to the afterworld. Drawing on William Carlos Williams’s assertion that “the local is the only thing that is universal,” West Portal investigates the Bay Area’s urban and rural landscapes along with the memories and people that reside there. Interweaving the narrative of the death of the poet's sister with the environmental and socioeconomic realities of the current moment, the poems in West Portal illuminate the experience of loss, and the attempt to create meaning in the wake of devastation. Through poems that are prayerful, observant, elegiac, pained, dreamlike, philosophical, and compassionate, the book What do we consider holy? What is virtue? What should any of us value about our relationship to place or our relationship with each other?

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

Published July 30, 2021

Reviews

[Scott Biggerstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up after Gucciardi's poem was featured on Poetry Unbound. Written with heart, insight, and humility. Highly recommend.

[shruti · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

"As I pressed my nose to rind, Rufo told me
how each morning his father dusted chili on sliced lemon,
how anything could be a sacrament if you held it right."

[Tess Huelskamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautiful, concise, and elegant portrayal of grief and life is breathtaking. I read this book in one sitting and cried so many wholesome tears experiencing the complex emotions on love, grief, and live Benjamin was able to capture so simply yet so eloquently.

““What is a bruise but the body fighting back?”. Beautiful🥲. The poem “I Ask My Sister’s Ghost to Write Her Own Elegy”🥰🥰🥰😭😭😭. Looking forward this over again to spend time to sit with each of these poems. 5/5 stars.

[elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

the portrayal of grief in this collection iw so beautiful i read this during lunch one thursday and could not function in my next period

[Kasandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, unflinching look at grief, loneliness, addiction, and the power of humanity to destroy ourselves as well as heal ourselves and our brethren. Powerful, yet a gentle and often delicate voice that's not shy. Tender, but wide-eyed and brutal at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was sad I had to return it to the library - I need to buy a copy. Particularly loved all the "My Sister's Ghost..." poems and the entire 2nd section of connected poems. Also, San Francisco is deftly portrayed here, though the book ranges across landscapes and countries. When it pops up throughout the volume, the images chosen are deft and delightful.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, visceral collection — these poems haunt me at the edges of all we know. They asked me to look inward, to look without fear at life, and at possible life beyond. Wow: what a poetic voice Gucciardi is!

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy to have stumbled upon this incredible little collection. Absolutely devastating poetry that was so narrative in the way it wove together the different parts of the authors life. 10/10, will be looking out for more of his works.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. Careful. Heart wrenching.

[Burcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

i met the author! very cool book especially after hearing him talk about grief in person