Review of Maybe Today

[Brendan Donaghy]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Maybe Today" by Barry Dickson.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Maybe Today is a collection of twenty-five poems by South Carolina resident, Barry Dickson. It’s a collection guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Poems such as “The Adverbial World Of Match.Com” and “Message From My Late Mother To All Governments” delight with their wit and humor. In “Wild Fling”, a man experiences all the emotions of a doomed love affair simply by listening to the answer message on the phone of a woman he hasn’t yet met! “At The 92nd St. Y” tackles head-on the accusation that humorous verse cannot be as profound as other poetry by posing the question: ‘Does a belly laugh come from a / shallower place than a tear?’ (Page 47)

Not all the poems are written for laughs; “People Don’t Want Drills, They Want Holes” digs a little deeper into the human psyche, “He’s Right” shoots down the claims of a holocaust denier, while the title poem, “Maybe Today,” covers the subject of racist violence. There are also some poems such as “Pillow Talk” that are more tender in tone.

What appealed to me most about these poems is their accessibility. This is due largely to the fact that the poet writes about the stuff of everyday life. It is his view that the subject matter of poetry can be found all around us. He writes in “Everywhere” that one can find poetry: ‘…in every / flake and bird and kiss and blade / and branch and wing and rose and nose and leaf / and child and flea and field and tear and soul and heart.’ (Page 17) It is the poet’s wit that turns these everyday matters into less common observations. In “Family Values,” for example, he uses the nesting rituals of woodland birds to excoriate the politicians who send others to war while refusing to go themselves.

The simple, unpretentious language the poet uses, combined with a lack of literary artifice in its construction, also contributes to the poetry’s accessibility. All the poems are written in free verse, and the rhythm of the poetry is the rhythm of natural speech. Traditionalists may frown on the free verse style of poetry, but the poet makes it clear in “Honk” that he is suspicious of contrived poetic devices: ‘Honk if you hate like holy hell hokey alliteration, / especially when it’s heavy-handed.’ (Page 30)

There was genuinely very little about this collection that I didn’t like. Inevitably, there will be poems in any collection that a reader likes less than others. For my part, I’m not a fan of prose poems as they always strike me as being neither fish nor fowl, so from that perspective, I must state that I didn’t like “Dear Citibank.” It’s a funny, well-observed piece, absolutely, but does it deserve a place in this collection of high-quality poems?

I am awarding this book four out of four stars. It is extremely well edited; I didn’t find a single typographical or grammatical error. One or two of the poems have adult themes, and there are a couple of examples of strong language and some references to sex; the book is suitable for older teenagers and above, in my opinion. If you like accessible, contemporary poetry, you’ll enjoy this book.

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Maybe Today
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[Julius J James]

The subject matter of poetry can be found all around us and in our day to day activities. Great review!

[Gabriella1997]

I love poetic books, I would enjoy reading this book, beautiful review.

[Brendan Donaghy]

The subject matter of poetry can be found all around us and in our day to day activities. Great review!

Thanks for commenting - much appreciated!

[Brendan Donaghy]

I love poetic books, I would enjoy reading this book, beautiful review.

Thank you for your comments!

[Silenteyes_11_6]

The best part of the poems are that they are accessible, easy to understand and feels like we live in it. For a second ,when I read 'pillow talk' I thought of the song by Zayn Malik. As per the title of the poems I found it easy going and to bring happiness and very much relatable.
Thanks for the review!