Pitch
Todd Boss's new book of poems, 'Pitch,' serves up subtle music from a young master.
Pitch
By Todd Boss
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
112 pp.
Readers and critics who have eagerly awaited Todd Boss鈥檚 second book of poems will not be disappointed. Pitch is a fabulous follow-up to 鈥淵ellowrocket,鈥� Boss鈥檚 acclaimed 2008 debut.聽
The keys to success in 鈥淧itch鈥� can be seen in the wonderful poem 鈥淥vertures on an Overturned Piano鈥� which opens beautifully, with lines that are precise and engaging:
From farm to farm
and one more
midnight mile to go
my father took
too fast the last turn
聽鈥� on black ice 鈥�
and presto,
over the side of our half-
ton Ford and into
the drainway went my
father鈥檚 father鈥檚 brother鈥檚
turn-of-the-century Steinway
piano.
Boss describes his mother鈥檚 scream as the truck 鈥渃areened around鈥� and the piano lay 鈥渕oaning chaotically/ in every key....鈥�
As the poem progresses, two men unexpectedly arrive in a Chevy Chevette, and Boss also raises questions about his father鈥檚 reaction to the mishap and possible subconscious motives. Throughout 鈥淥vertures鈥� 鈥� and the collection 鈥� the reader shifts from admiration to chuckles and back. Boss flawlessly employs subtle music, and he portrays events and people without overplaying his hand, leaving readers feeling that they, like the piano, have suffered only minor damage.
In the book鈥檚 third section, for example, Boss writes about the tension between a wife and her mother-in-law, both of whom want to occupy center stage in the husband/son鈥檚 life. One woman tries to wean the man while the other aims for a weak spot; yet because the writing is so accurate and apt, the result is memorable, not maudlin. The same is true where Boss describes the sense of loss his wife felt when they decided not to have a third child. Boss maintains his balance, as he does in 鈥淢y Love for You is So Embarrassingly,鈥� where he compares his feelings for his spouse to the Hindenburg. (Yes, it works.)聽
鈥淧itch鈥� mixes familiar ground 鈥� love, the family farm in Wisconsin 鈥� with new territory, as with Boss鈥檚 dog poems and his 鈥淢arble Tumble Toys,鈥� where words move the way that marbles did on classic toys.
In other places, Boss considers missed opportunities or recalls overlooked lives. He also broaches the topic of God, as in 鈥淭he World Is in Pencil.鈥� There, Boss considers the Creator鈥檚 efforts 鈥撯�淚t had to be a labor/ of love鈥� 鈥� and concludes that 鈥淚鈥檒l bet it felt good/ In the hand....鈥�
鈥淧itch鈥� feels good in the hand as well.
Elizabeth Lund reviews poetry for 海角大神 and The Washington Post.