Straits

"The very existence of poetry should make us laugh," Koch says in 'My Olivetti Speaks,' a long, meditative prose piece. Whatever else it might be, this poetry is fast-paced, zany, fun. In Straits, Koch combines his trademark long lines with some simple pieces, such as a long sequence focusing on famous literary or artistic figures (Botticelli, Sappho, Borges, Byron, etc.). Here, in his formulaic style (the first line of each section ends with 'lived') he describes, often facetiously, how where they lived affected their lives and work. Prefaced by a quote from Shakespeare, 'around songs, everything becomes a play,' the volume also includes passages from 20 plays that work extremely well out of context. Most valuable to this collection, however, are a handful of short, lyrical poems such as 'The Human Sacrament' or 'Commosso.' These are little gems that sophisticated poetry lovers can also enjoy.Koch, Kenneth is the author of 'Straits', published 1999 under ISBN 9780375701337 and ISBN 0375701338.