Willie Perdomo’s second book, Smoking Lovely (Rattapallax Press, 2003), followed his amazing Where A Nickel Costs a Dime, nearly a decade later, and his publisher changes from Norton to Rattapallax. Both books contain a CD of Willie’s extraordinary reading, with some large differences: in Nickel, Willie gives a perfunctory reading, rushes through; in Smoking he takes more time, switches up the oral and written -- why, there’s even a bit of music bracketing his “Lexington Avenue Prelude.” Nickel was clearly a brilliant first collection of poems, one of the most brilliant debuts in recent years; Smoking Lovely reads like a novel -– a descent into street drug hell, some light, an ascension, a way out with poetry as guide. “Write What You Know” is a conclusive Perdomo poem, and Sister, that he does: tough, gritty, bold, smart (too smart?), and full of life, despair, joy. Another difference between the books is that where is Norton ten years later, having tasted Spoken Word as Flavor of the Month? vs. Rattapallax, where Ram Devineni has hired Perdomo to create a new line of books, Cypher, with first pub being Suheir Hammad’s ZataarDiva (see below). Book of the Year.
Suheir Hammad’s breakthrough, ZataarDiva (Cypher/Rattapallax, forthcoming February 2006), may be the best blend of book/CD ever, primarily because Suheir is such a generous soul that when she kicks a poem it’s like you’re on the sofa with her. She’s just talking. The CD also includes a visit with her father, a poem backed up by her brother on the guitar, a taped phone intro, and some dropped beats by a couple DJs. The book does not include a packet of zaatar, the Lebanese spice which was stapled on the books’ promo cards: Lebanese mothers believe that zaatar gives strength and clarity, so before leaving home on exam days, all school children eat a slice of bread spread with a mix of zaatar and olive oil. So it is with Suheir’s poetry: it’s all courage, all human, all political push. Suheir’s recent trip to New Orleans was like this book -– there’s a problem, a crisis, you can bet she’s there. These poems are spicy as hell. She’s the jazz of Brooks, the hiphop of Tupac, the humor of Hagedorn. This woman leads the way, except she won’t have us follow. She wants us here beside her, shoulder to shoulder, the poem of people striding the world. Book of the Year (next year).
~Bob Holman
