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Peter Johnson's avatar

Over the years I have frequently taught Alexie's verse and prose poetry in my course called "Black Humor in Contemporary American Poetry." I see echoes of those early poems in recent poems, but this "new" Alexie continues to surprise. Many of the old themes are the same because, of course, they are the universal themes of all poetry. But the presentation, the short lines and brief stanzas keep one guessing, as if you are walking down an alley, then making an abrupt turn down another alley, while, unknown to you, Sherman is waiting patiently with a blackjack in hand, whose sting always tends to reveal a necessary flaw in the human condition.

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Cathleen Falsani's avatar

Oh, man, this one rang my bell. Thank you!

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