Title: mainline to the heart and other poems
Author: Clive Matson
ISBN: 9781587901393
Publisher: Regent Press/2009
Pages: 85
I had not heard of Clive Matson before this. As most of you know, I like to explore varied genres of poetry. Jacqueline Lasahn, Publicist at cosmicdance was kind enough to send mainline to the heart and other poems to me, when I requested for it.
Clive Matson wrote this book of poetry in 1966, that period in which sex, drugs and religion were burning issues. His poetry too pertains to that with an exploding intensity. With raw honesty, he has the knack to touch our inner core.
On the surface, his poetry might depict celebrating sex and drugs but those also show that true joy has nothing to do with the baser instincts. The poems dwell on the wounded, bruised state of mind, hitting hard at times but do not crush our spirits. The poetry may border on pornography but are handled with such sensitivity which is very rare to find.
....She's is not good enough for me, oh no!
Besides her breasts are too small.
I give woman a disease.
A woman in love with me:
......................................Trouble.
.............................Man's conceit
~~~Page 19, Talk about love
.......................................Even the peyote/LSD
taste of ecstasy and peace with the world
soured to nausea by a growling stomach
and my aching groin
~~~Page 25, The Jungle
................Opium today.
..................................My Brain is loaded.
.....................Put down
the spike, wipe a red dribble
oozing out the hole in my arm.
The whole arm lit bright by the sun.
......................................................Blink-Blink
~~~Page 27, Psalm
I tried to turning on love when its blush had faded
Pressed her hard for salvation and she burst
in my hand exploding bile that
brought me down to Earth.
~~~Page 73, Love Soured
The poems stay within the mind for a long time after reading those. The emotions ooze from each page. A book worth reading but not for those who like everything nicely tied up.
Optimus Prime!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this post:)
ReplyDeleteNicely presented mini-review, those were the days, or so they tell me!
ReplyDeleteHis poetry seems even less organise than me! But it is good to see someone that just write as it comes!
ReplyDeleteWow, such vivid and raw imagery...these were fantastic. Thanks for telling us about this poet!
ReplyDeleteThat's powerful stuff.
ReplyDeleteI really like this:
ReplyDelete'I tried to turning on love when its blush had faded
Pressed her hard for salvation and she burst'
It's funny how the appearance of the end of love sometimes make one try too hard to save that which has already departed.
Very gutsy stuff - I'm going to check out his bio and see what else I can find. I wonder if he is still living, writing.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting and helpful post about poets! There is so much poetry out there that we know nothing about. Thank you!
ReplyDeletevery interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such rusty and adorable poet's works..
ReplyDeleteWell that is interesting, good post sweetie, have you ever read Rod Mckuen's 'Alone'? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it...
ReplyDeleteRaw and powerful words, thanks for introducing us to another poet.
ReplyDeleteSeriously strong stuff. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the vividness and honesty of these excerpts, thanks for the education.
ReplyDeleteNice review - I'll follow up on his work...
ReplyDeleteI'll take memorable over nice. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteI like subversion in a poet. Thanks for the review and for the cool use of the prompts.
ReplyDeleteexcellent stuff, thanks for the post... indeed it does take me back to the 60s.. what an explosive time of changes...
ReplyDeleteThanks for this poem and post.
ReplyDeleteBoise real estate
For those interested;
ReplyDeleteYes, Clive is still alive.
Yes, Clive still writes.
You can check out his website at matsonpoet.com