Prose Poem Winner (redux)
DEATHLESS NUCLEAR FAMILY OF THE SPANGLED MIND
Michael Nardone
There’s something about punctuation – not points on a page but the way words cut and slip through other words, the way it sounds to be alive and seeing. Prose steps in where lyric can’t, here, poemwise; it’s less like looking through a microscope, more like standing in the middle of a busy street with a blindfold on. A good prose poet is always all ears. Nardone in this poem is doing great things with sound and with that kind of punctuation. We can hear family, TV, dinner- and dish-sounds, plus something else (“—Coffee? Tea?—Coffee.—Coffee!—Coffee.—Coffee.—Cream? Sugar?—A dreamworld. A cartoon.—Both”) coming through the edges. There’s an understanding here of the way said and unsaid start and stop each other, how there’s always something heard plus something pulling what you hear. Which is why this poem. And which is maybe why prose poetry in general. Just a theory.
Michael Nardone will receive a selection of books from two presses that celebrate the prose poem: Coach House Press in Toronto and Les Figues Press in Los Angeles. Thanks to both presses for ongoing excellence.
Congratulations, Mr. Nardone.
Please note that the text is actually blocked in a specific way this blog is unable to replicate. *Okay we have images of the poem. Do let us know what you think.
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