The Death of the Poem: and Other Paragraphs

The same dementoid who blessed us with the novel Skunk: A Love Story brings us this equally odiferous collection of poems. Starting things off with a piece that could make Dana Gioia wet his chinos, Courter poses the very serious question “Can Poultry Matter?” (The answer, of course, “I don’t know, can cornbread?”) Each poem is a lesson in imagination and unstuffing the often stuffy confines of this written form. Courter brings as much joy to the table as he does outright hilarity and confusion. Oh come on, stick-up-the-assed one, just try to not love a piece called “Kicking the Congressman.” In Courter’s world, there’s no time for poetic passivity, especially in this “nice quiet town of god-fearing motherfuckers.” This is poultry at its most fun and creative.