The Devastation

by Jill Alexander Essbaum

A long-poem chapbook from the author of Harlot (No Tell Books).

Genres: Poetry

26 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's difficult to review this chapbook simply because, while I enjoyed what was here, I wanted so much more. I'm not against a single long poetry sequence making up a chapbook--indeed, I believe that's why I bought this one, wanting to see some examples--but in this case, the poetry was so short, spread out, and ephemeral, that it just didn't have enough weight to it, and I was left wanting a great deal more. I'd certainly read a full collection of this author's work, but I'm not sure I'd pick up another chapbook.

[amanda abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are few poets who possess the musicality and playfulness that Jill does. The rhyme and meter in her poems are so very satisfying and beg to be read aloud. This collection is spread over 21 spare pages, which are difficult to not delight in even when the subject matter is serious. This collection showcases her flirtation with the divine, and I am here for it.

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-made edition by the good folks at Cooper Dillon Books. This 25 page poem/prayer by Jill Alexander Essbaum wrestles with love/lust, desire and loss and the possibilities of redemption, or perhaps the impossibility of self-redemption. One couplet reads:


I've been my sins. I'll be them again.
Christ, the bottle's empty. Turn this water into gin.



And toward the beginning of the poem, these wonderful, playful 4 lines:


Years younger, it is a different cross I'm nailed to.

All my charms, all my conniving.

My doings and my don'ts.

Impossible paths. Impassable boths.


Essbaum paces out this long poem perfectly and it is easily read in one, brief sitting...but promises rewards for frequent re-reading. She's just so much damn fun to read. As her author bio states:

"She believes most firmly that wit trumps irony, clever beats disaffected, and, in all things, sincerity is key."

But part of what makes Essbaum so engaging, I think, is that she writes so well about insincerity and the capacity for self-deception as well, laying it all bare on the page in language both charming and unflinching.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chapbook-length poem that was a little too vague for my liking, I was never sure what it was about, nor was I pulled into the poem.

Some select lines:
Years younger, it is a different cross I'm nailed to.
All my charms, all my conniving.
My doings and my don'ts.
Impossible paths. Impassable boths.

//

For what cannot be trusted can't be seen.
And obsession is a cure of no-thing.

//

Like:
Seeing the arms of death as if they were
my mother's arms.

Like:
The savor of a first or final kiss.

[stacy]

Heard her read from this tonight at Hotel San Jose. The sound was for sh--, but what she was sayin...I'm all about it. Heavy and heady.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final two lines of the poem were equal+1 to the emotion I felt from the entire poem up to that point.