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Review by Paul Julien (email) Father's Philosophy is a new book of poems published in 2006 by the young Wisconsin writer Patrick T. Randolph. Patrick grew up in northwestern Wisconsin, a vast and remote wooded area of the state, deep in snow in winter, owned by Black Bear and deer, and always dark green in the heart of August with a hot blue sky. Patrick's poetry still carries that Northern-pine purity and freshness, the true fragrance rather than the chemical spray from a can. He has had a number of his poems published by a back-pack of journals as widely dispersed as California Quarterly and The Wisconsin Poet's Calendar, and we welcome now the publishing of this collection, his first.
This is a book that searches these topics but, despite its many images of people doing gentle things to the earth, never comes close to sliding down into sentimentality, self-indulgence, or stickiness for stickiness's sake; you are entering a no-kitsch zone here. These verses have great clarity, and no fat or gristle. In places Patrick uses the discipline and simplicity of a 5-7-5 syllable beat to great effect to increase the impact of each word, without ever hitting you over the head with IT'S A HAIKU FROM WISCONSIN, GET IT? This is a very soft-spoken book. Patrick has traveled the U.S and Alaska extensively, and has lived in Japan. He has collected many precious stones along the way:
I immediately picture the maple leaf as dark red, but each reader will summon their own image of a moonlit night, fresh from the rain.
These poems roam over topics that include harvest, planting, husbands, wives, mothers, daughters, fathers, seasons, motel rooms, birth, death, trees, a bar in Berkeley CA, earth and small creatures, and love, and Love. These poems have learned from work:
and from marriage:
These poems have learned from nature in a great many ways. And we will learn from Patrick as he continues to give his gifts to us. We eagerly await their arrival. This is a beautiful addition to any poetry shelf.
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