| Chicken Bones by Michael Paul Ladanyi - Review by Aurora Antonovic |
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~ Chicken Bones ~by Michael Ladanyi http://celaine.com/LittlePoemPress/ladanyi.html Review by Aurora Antonovic: It is always intriguing, with each new collection a poet brings forth, to note whether or not he has held to his own standards, or surpassed them. In this regard, Chicken Bones, Michael Paul Ladanyi's fourth collection of poetry, does not disappoint. As always, Ladanyi's rhythm and meter are impeccable, his words, image-rich and powerfully driven. He follows his trade-marked handling of difficult subjects with aplomb, using his skills to bring powerful messages home without over-kill. These are the things that remain the same. In the past, Michael Paul Ladanyi's poetry has read almost as a written slide-show presentation, with unusual line breaks to switch us from one visual to another with a click of an enjambment. In this collection, he instead presents his images in solid, flowing pieces, coming together to form one final message.
The first verse from "Raindogs" illustrates this well: "Winter Stones" is another example of such a method: the poem is laden with evocations of ghosts, and small dead seeds, closed fists, and broken bones, all adding up to a complete image of "Winter Stones." This collection consists of verbal paintings, with marigold and charcoal, red mouths, paste for skin, and green and blue words. The pictures travel from a range of leaves to sparrows, mud-lapping dogs to awkward skeletons, lilies to peasants. As all good collections, these poems read best when read together, each one enhancing the next. Colour-rich, nature-laced, and image-evocative, Chicken Bones is a collection worth reading again and again. It is always intriguing, with each new collection a poet brings forth, to note whether or not he has held to his own standards, or surpassed them. In this regard, Chicken Bones, Michael Paul Ladanyi's fourth collection of poetry, does not disappoint. |
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