The Usual Thing

The Uusual Thing Published by Lulu Available at www.lulu.com/ A collection of poems, some with illustrations, previously published in journals or websites,.. New York, N.Y. (PRWEB) April 28, 2006 -- The Usual Thing, a collection of challenging poems and illustrations is now available at Lulu and will soon be available at Amazon. The collection is a diverse exploration of spiritual, political, and intimate issues reflecting an original and controversial point of view that the author considers to be at the rational center of thought and reflection. These poems are not mystic or mushy, but reflect a long period of inexpert gardening; becoming a Yankee fan when they were in last place; a long and unsuccessful search for the Jesus of history (as opposed to the Christ of faith(); the true nature of the American republic, and of course the meaning of 'love. Since all of these searches for meaning turned up null results, the default effort was to create poetry or what is called poetry in our time. The underlying struggle of literature is to deal with the very convincing statement of Kurt Vonnegut, that we are all here to 'fart around and don't let anybody tell you any different.' In doing this one discovers that life is indeed about sex and money and the test of character is not to deny this but to handle it. Literature helps. Everything, history, biography, even some physics, is a form of fiction. Whether or not the universe exists, we make up our own view of it or decide to subscribe to the often nutty views of others, astrologers, psychoanalysts, numerologists. Nonsense is nonsense; the history of nonsense is called scholarship. Harold Lorin did a career in Computer Science and is responsible for some of the atrocious software on the planet. But he also discovered that the mental processes of writing a poem is not unlike writing a computer program. There is the possibility of elegance and precision in both undertakings. These poems have been influenced, but not determined by the poetry T.S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Matthew Arnold, W.S. Merwin, Billy Collins, e.e. cummings, Tennyson, and others. I do not think there is too much cryptonesia. "The Usual Thing" is not usual at all... 1 2 May 2006 by Karen Corcoran Dabkowski and that is the charm of this book, which is steeped in myth and religion and a sprinkling of dark ironies. Harold Lorin's style of writing is a cross between deadpan comedian and lover of antiquities, and he makes the blend in ways that find us greeting Sisyphus as one would a fellow on the bus: who has his problemsbut is working through them to an impossible transcendence. Hal's work is 'holy': there's no other word for it. And when he introduces the subjects of aging, dying, growing old together- he opens his veins for us. Lucy's Lorin's artwork make the perfect match to the words on the page, burnishing

their richness to a fine, bright clarity. This book is one I handle with reverence (another word not heard much anymore)- but it is true. It's covered in love and the sense of wonder we were born with and it's poetry books like this that allow us to rediscover the 'gods' in all of us- toiling, troubled- larger than life. Karen Corcoran Dabkowski Editor, 'The Blue House', poetry ezine