bet ajar

It's not every day that I recommend the poetry of a Rolling Stone writer, but Peter Relic's stuff in The Nightjar Review is delightful. (Jury is still out on Fricke-ian Sestinas though). Utilizing the Malaysian stanza form known as the pantoum (Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, and John Ashberry all used it), Relic toggles between being trenchant and ludicrous, all rendered with a definite sense of craft. Gay quarterbacks, special hacksaws ordered off TV, and Jesus's love of hot pants are just a few poetic images visited. Hep also to the "No mini-Stereolab; aloe, retsin, I'm on" threats of Jeff-cepter as well as the murmured words of Diane Cluck.