Literature:

Becoming (poems 2002-2005)
Christopher Porpora
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Many of us are guilty of falling prey to the most egregious cliché in all of literature: Judging a book by its cover…

One certainly can do just that when encountering the cover of Christoper Porpora’s newest collection Becoming (poems 2002-2005). The cover of Porpora’s collection features an unoriginal black ink drawing of something unknown. Thus many will likely have passed this collection over for a poetry compilation with a more colorful and painstakingly meticulous work of art on its cover. Fortunately for them, they will have missed very little, other than a slight piquing of interest.

Porpora does show an in-depth knowledge of language and linguistic ability, however that ability has failed to culminate in a fantastic collection of poetry. The title of the collection insinuates that the reader is in for a distinct and original journey of “becoming.” Unfortunately the reader is treated to the rather dull drone of “meandering….” Meaning - instead of an exhibition of poesy, there is a display of verbiage.

The rare exceptions being Porpora’s sonnets, his traditional nature-inspired pieces, and his shorter tercets & quatrains. So we will concentrate on those. One unrhymed quatrain in particular is an exquisite example of the exception. “I’ve Been Out Looking For You In My Dreams” effortlessly hints at the unraveling of a larger mystery in the ensuing pages.

[pg. 43]

I’ve been out looking for you in my dreams
Everytime I find a house in the woods
That throws dark golden light onto pines
Something tells me you’re the secret inside

The larger mystery does indeed make an appearance on page-54 of Porpora’s collection. The poem “Until The Sun Of Glory Rise Again” certainly displays the authors more creative side. In fact, the fluidity of Porpora’s effort shines brilliantly for just a moment. The wording of the sonnet is nicely scribed & the rhythm flows just gorgeously:

[pg. 54]

Until the sun of glory rise again,
no celebration sing; remain amidst
the quiet tapers watching shadowed rain,
there, while sleeping days remember bliss…

…Such silences at absent song reveal
what flames perfumed with dusk cannot conceal.

At this point there are sporadic appearances of fine scribing, but for the most part the excitement airs-out like a deflated balloon….

No longer will I fall prey to the trite banality of judging a book by it’s cover. And from the look of the cover, I would never have dared lift Mr. Porpora’s collection of poetry. I must say though, after a thorough reading, he has most certainly piqued my interest. Downside is that he has left me wanting more.

3 ½ stars of 5 – Piqued my interest - Left me wanting more.

Copyright © 2006 Jacquii Cooke

Available at Anne's House Press