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Said Beauty to the Blues

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A poetry tour de force, Bill Campana has done what few poets could ever dream of in writing sharp, entertaining poetry that doesn't cater to anyone but is enjoyed by all. A veteran of the 1990's poetry slam movement, Said Beauty to the Blues proves Bill is a writer of many styles and ideas. In his live performances, he comes at you like a machine gun of short, powerful linguistic observations. Having this book gives you the opportunity to give each piece it's due. Bill's live performances are the thing of legend, if you get to see him, you might get lucky enough to hear one of these.

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2013

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Bill Campana

6 books

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Gary Bowers.
7 reviews
April 20, 2014
Bill Campana is a performance poet who has at least once been mistaken for a standup comedian. That's because he's often hilarious; and many of the more than 100 poems in SAID BEAUTY TO THE BLUES are very funny. But it reveals something about where Mr. Campana is coming from that the very first and very last poem in this fine collection are not primarily humorous though not without humor. The man has a lot to say about shared and unshared perception, history, priorities, celebrity, anonymity, and life's heartmeat. He's SO funny, SO often, though, that his brilliance as humorist can occlude his brilliance as an observer of his fellow beings and himself. His poem "eclipse" is metaphorical of that:

at the library
looking at a book
about the sun

a man walks by
carrying a book
about the moon

the librarian
goes
blind

Many of his titles are standalone entertainment: "one flew over his head," "i clean-a my mouth," and "unlike a night when suddenly the cat is walking up my body, stands on my chest and begins kneading my throat as if he is trying to strangle me, and i say to him, 'what are you trying to do, strangle me?'" are three examples. But the promises of the titles are met and often exceeded by the poems beneath them; whereas my best attempt to write a Campana title, "how i meant your mother," leaves me hard-pressed to back up the title with a payoff.

Campana cares a lot about some of his fellow poets. He's a co-host of the Phoenix monthly poetry event Caffeine Corridor, handling the open mic portion thereof, and the affection is there when he thanks the performer. But anyone reading "for marietta" will find that his daughter is the true apple of his eye. All the reader need do is connect the non-dots.
Profile Image for Jaffa Kintigh.
280 reviews13 followers
May 30, 2015
Emerging from the slam poetry scene in Phoenix, this uneven collection is filled with light humor throughout [though trying too hard at times]. Many of the poems clearly arise directly from the poet's experiences
"luckily the concrete floor broke my fall"

i fell down today

i misjudged the bottom step
while walking down a concrete staircase

nobody was there so it didn't make a sound . . .
well, i was there, but i wasn't listening

plus, it was in pitch darkness
so not only did i not make a sound
but there was also nothing to see

don't ask me how i know it even happened

While humor is the main voice, at times a clear poignancy rears its head. In "light and darkness but mostly darkness and then light again" the poet cuts through sentimentality: "when i die the birds will sing / the same songs they sing now / not one note bluer." Mortality appears again in "morning song late at night": "but if you want time / i've got plenty / i count seven clocks that have stopped / and two that no longer care / but i've got plenty / i feel the hours leaving / and i know just how many / it takes to fill up an empty morning."

The observational poems, of which there are many, find their strength in challenging perspective. In one case the perspective is twisted fully around to distantly observe the poet.
"upside down"

that spider
has been hanging
upside down
for so long
that it appears
i am the one
suspended from the ceiling
in my chair
binding my saliva
around a spinning chicken leg
until i crawl
into another room

One observation-turned-"list poem" is darkly playful.
"reasons you find a wheelchair in the dumpster"

someone has decided
to start walking again

it wore out and was replaced
with a new one

it wasn't fast enough

someone is being very cruel


Nature is not a major component of this collection, however there are some surprisingly fresh lines on old muses. [From "the sun, the moon, you, and a brief appearance by me"]: "i saw the moon / sneaking around / faintly visible / while the sun / was still in full bloom / at the other end of the sky / but thinking it over." Likewise "dust devil '13" takes a similar tone in showing human impact and un-naturalness: "the dust devil whips it up / in the middle of the street / the field, the steel yard // sending trash high flying / like wild plastic birds / into the thermals / where they hang like hawks."

Though most of the poems were very short, my favorite was probably the longest, "the go go sixties". The social commentary is superficially light and deeply penetrating.
[from "the go go sixties"]

. . . the sixties taught me a thing or two

how to make a joke
how to take a joke
how to throw a punch
how to take a punch
the sixties taught me how to be a boy

and to take assassinations like a man
watch the replay as if it were sport
i've never seen anything bleed like the sixties
the sixties could overcook a city as if it were a bad meal
and leave a taste in your mouth . . .


I received this collection through Goodreads First Reads.
297 reviews
May 27, 2015
Modern poetry may not be to everyone's liking, but if you do, this volume is very rewarding. Surprising imagery, irony use making you grin, and the choices of poetic topics are what appeal to me. A dead bird in the street will make me remember "mourning in the afternoon rush hour" and "the go go sixties" I'd love to hear at an open mic event. It's a rewarding poetic read. I received a copy from Goodreads First Reads for review and I am so thankful as I would not have otherwise been exposed to Campana's work.
Profile Image for Sara Bauer.
Author 53 books366 followers
August 26, 2014
An incredible live performer, his words translate on the page as well. Lots of laughs with some poignancy thrown in. Bill proves poetry is NOT DEAD.
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