You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
No Girls No Telephones is an incredibly fascinating chapbook. Written by two poets, the poems act as an homage to John Berryman. The first poem is a translation of Berryman's work, while the second poem is a translation of the first. At times the message was almost non-sensical, but when you read the two poems side by side there is a wildly complex variation of comparing and contrasting of words, phrases, and themes. I enjoyed some poems over others. I found that reading the top line of one poem followed by the top line of the second poem and moving through the poem in this fashion was even more enjoyable as together the two poems made one poem. Whether this was intentional or not, I'm unsure. It all became one giant game of "telephone" in the best way. I feel like reading this one over and over again would yield new nuggets on each subsequent read.
(Read the author's note for context, or these poems will seem nonsensical.) What a fascinating exercise in poetic deconstruction and assembly. I will absolutely try this and assign it to students.