Neighbour Procedure

by Syd Zolf

Rachel Zolf’s powerful follow-up to the Trillium Award-winning Human Resources is a virtuoso polyvocal correspondence with the daily news, ancient scripture and contemporary theory that puts the ongoing conflict in Israel/Palestine firmly in the crosshairs. Plucked from a minefield of competing knowledges, media and public texts, Neighbour Procedure sees Zolf assemble an arsenal of poetic procedures and words borrowed from a cast of unlikely neighbours, including Mark Twain, Dadaist Marcel Janco, blogger-poet Ron Silliman and two women at the gym. The result is a dynamic constellation where humour and horror sit poised at the threshold of ethics and politics.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2010

Reviews

[Kirstin Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are glimmers of brilliance in this book of poetry, but my overall criticism is that too many pieces within are inaccessible, impenetrable, opaque.

The first couple of poems are full of earnestness and grieving to the point of beauty.

But so many are just single image poems, meant to show you a place in a situation, but not to take you through it or to any kind of conclusion.

Ultimately I just had to conclude that this book was not for me, I was not the intended audience, because I am neither Israeli nor Palestinian, I speak neither Hebrew nor Arabic.

But it's likely a good conversation for those groups to engage in.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, 3 3/4 stars. I'm still processing...I need to read this book another ten times.