Das Gedichtete
Patrick
James Dunagan. Ugly Duckling Presse, $10 ($8 direct from UDP) Saddle-stitched.
32 pp, 9 x 6.5 in.
Das
Gedichtete, a
literary term coined by Walter Benjamin, refers to a sense of the idealized
poem, the perfected state of poetry that what is written on the page can only
signpost towards. The concept is perhaps to poetry what water is to Coca-Cola;
the real thing behind 'the real thing'.
In
an introductory quote to Das Gedichtete, a poet named Patrick displays
frustration with poetry readings as 'nobody listens & nobody knows.'
Patrick James Dunagan, presumably the poet referred to, has fashioned a set of
works which uncompromisingly expects its audience to know and care about the
literary theory behind its pages. This book is written by a 'lifer in the
guild' of poetry primarily for other lifers in the guild. In the main, the
collection is abstract, staccato, and opaque. However, the more the poems
embody these attributes, the more successful and convincing they are.
Das
Gedichtete's
focal point is an untitled meditation spread over four pages with three stanzas
spaced on each page. This poem finds resonances with metaphysical and
transcendental poetry of previous centuries. The poem's structure, spaces
crackling between stanzas like short wave static, adds to the sense that these
words are coming from a long way back.
Dunagan
takes the reader from the deep past of creation through mythological 'realms of
enchantment' towards the rhythms of the city. His writing strives to hold the
now of urban living in tension with our place in the galaxy, thinking
universally in order to act locally, even if a 'harmonic resonance / left
unresolved' is virtually guaranteed. At his best, Dunagan manages to sound like
he is somewhere between George Herbert praying and a public service radio
newsreader.
Where
Das Gedichtete is weaker is in dealing with that in the world which does
not conform to its own ideals and aesthetics. The most glaring example is when
Dunagan rails against 'Endless uniformity of pop songs.' Spending time
highlighting what is not Das Gedichtete only creates a loss of focus and
momentum.
What
is most admirable in the collection Dunagan has produced is the spirit behind
it. There is a passionate, questing heart on a sleeve for poetry and its place
in society that works into each of Dunagan's lines. It is good that he is 'out
there' searching for Das Gedichtete. If anything, a reader might hope
that future collections by Dunagan might be further out there, pushing past the
signposts closer towards the real thing and reporting back on what he finds. (December
2013)
Purchase
Das Gedichtete HERE.
Reviewer
bio: Simon Travers published his first collection of poems, entitled 'Anatomy',
in November 2013. It is available from www.stackhousejones.com
