The Plumber's Apprentice

by Joe Weil

Poetry. THE PLUMBER'S APPRENTICE differs from Weil's previous work in that it charts the nature of suffering beyond the limits of his working class "Elizabeth" and focuses more deeply on two aspects of his his Irish Catholic sense of communion, with the living and the dead (all who have gone forth marked with the sign of faith), and the essential solitude of being a single, short, bald man who has no offspring, no legacy, no beloved, and is falling, however slowly, to his death. Perhaps the question Weil asks most frequently given the inevitable coordinates of ongoing failure, how does a poet give the middle finger to grade z forms of Emersonian positivism and have some fun in this vale of tears? In if love is impossible, and life severely limited, and loneliness is devouring the furniture, where's the closest bar, and do they have a good jukebox? For brief moments Weil succeeds in making failure, death and love his drinking buddies. In the poet's messed up ontology, they make for a lively and comical crew.

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Zachary Gaskill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Weil continues to capture the "average to lower class" in his poetry and make it beautiful. You can feel his humility through every poem. This book speaks to me, for I have been where he decides to place his poetry.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry has a problem--go beyond the hallowed halls of the Dodge Festival and academia, and the curve of poetry appreciation plummets off the continental shelf. At that point, you are most likely in the realm of hip-hop, and therein lies the problem. Poetry festivals will very rarely associate themselves with song lyrics, hip-hop practitioners very rarely snuggling up with a tome of Stanley Kunitz. And the world of Poesy is as much to blame, if not more, with highly touted poets who sit atop of pile of referential material that needs a correspondence course of the history of verse to make any sense, and even then, one mostly appreciates the references rather than the deep, joyous and often troubling honesty about human character.

But Poesy often continues to construct its own irrelevance with its self-proclaimed Blue Collar poets, those who tout their minimum wage pedigree and white trashiness, often sounding more like the starlet proclaiming that she is still the plain old girl from the neighborhood from the moon roof of her SUV-limo.

For some relief, read Joe Weil. Weil's poems are thick with experience of the world, a level of honesty and willingness to tout failures as well as moments of ecstasy with equal fervor. Weil's poetry comes from the church, from dirty rivers, from overnight shifts that people rarely pay much attention to. Bethlehem may be a slum, but that slum is someone's home, and Weil brings us heartily into the pulse of that mindset. The love and despair and awe of the power to create and destroy in this world is comforting, if only to know that there are poets who have little interest residing in the crow's nest of the ivory tower but are far more comfortable singing at its base, a spot that is surprisingly comfortable, even if a little uncomfortable at times.

[Writer's Relief · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry collection is divided into three sections: There Goes the Neighborhood, How Holy, and It's Like This. The first paints portraits of people in the working class, in love, and in pain. The second tackles spirituality/philosophy through different poetic form, such as haiku and various rhyme form. The third plays with the poetic form even more. For me, Weil's best poems are honest portrayals of relationships, whether they’re exposing the quirkiness or passion or jealousy--he puts his heart on the line with every word he chooses.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love this book. Will read these poems again and again. This book makes me want to write poetry.