Exits is a poetry chapbook that captures the prevailing zeitgeist in a world ravaged by contagion, famine and war. The nineteen poems cohere by virtue of a unifying theme. Each relates to one or more aspects of mortality — disease and decline, death and remembrance — and each is accompanied by a piece of artwork selected by the author.
Despite the ostensibly somber theme, all of the poems feature vivid imagery and abundant wordplay. The collection also features a potpourri of styles, ranging from traditional forms to free verse to hybrid works. Nine of the poems have appeared in literary journals, and six have been recognized in regional or international poetry competitions.
Natural opposing entities are prominently featured in Pollock’s imaginative poetry collection. The title, “Exits,” points to the larger theme, and Pollock considers exits of all kinds, such as the process of toothpaste being “secreted” and the exit of a beloved Japanese woman from this earth. Pollock utilizes scenes and analysis of happenings from the natural world to expound upon the theme of exits, involving many forms of entry as well. This focus gives the work as a whole a worldview current to the nature—and sickness/death-focused—of contemporary life. Further, the poems travel the world, including one based on a Madagascar landscape scene, symbolic of the connectivity available in modern day. There are darker and lighter poems, but Exits has a greater air of sadness; the creative structure and form of each poem serve to make the work a bit lighter. Pollock uses language steeped in Catholicism to discuss the moment where the author is told he has a nose tumor, and writes about lunar phases through the eyes of his daughter who thinks they’re “like her new glasses, focusing light / and sharpening the world.” Having essentially two focuses in each poem, one in the subject matter and one in the language and form, allows Pollock to more creatively examine concepts and requires the reader to think harder about each short work. It necessitates closer analysis of each line, but not so much analysis that readers will get buried in the weeds of words, as sometimes happens in poems.
What Pollock achieved here is a unique and diverse group of harmonious poems. It engages the creative while staying grounded in the natural and offers analysis of everyday-life scenes. It can be humorous, but it can also be macabre. These oppositions strengthen the actual writing, and aid Pollock in producing the multi-layered depth that distinguishes lasting poetry.
Takeaway: Lasting poems examining birth and death, light and dark, largely focused in the natural world.
Great for fans of: Ted Kooser, Bob Hicok.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: B+
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
