Spring

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 15/09/2008

In this adventurous mix of taut lyrics, dramatic monologues and free-ranging typographical experiments, Buchanan (What Animal), who is also a pianist, has an ear for mellifluous runs and beautifully, at times humorously, evoked emotions: "the vast veld, the funnel of black wings/ landing on the rack en masse, a smoothing,/ a soothing of black, the indivisible plumage." This same musical sensibility, however, can lead the poems into murky, precious territory ("u r so Mesozoic era"). Images of the natural world and scientific language abound in this National Poetry Series winning second book, selected by Mark Doty. "Dear lonely animal," begins a typical poem from the series of that name, "I miss you. The other animals/ are looking at porn again./ I will never dress or disrobe." This voice is clear and direct, a startling contrast to the book's more coded closing sections, such as "The Mandrake Vehicles," in which Buchanan's natural-world preoccupations and fecund music explode into the experimental, fractal territory, la Jorie Graham and Alice Fulton. There are accompanying notes to the "paper" version of this series, as well as digital version on a multimedia CD included with the book. Both are dazzling displays of textual hijinks and combine to make an interesting foray into hypertextuality.