The Architecture of Me is a beautiful collection of William Sovern's remarkable and memorable poems. The poem 'The Apollinaire Blues' reveals his skilful mastery of style:
“in my
daydreams
green fields
green fields of children
balls fling
about.”
Sovern's poetic technique is marked by innovation and experimentation. His poems reveal 'hard, dry image', instead of vague, facile and hollow style of the Georgian poets of the early 20th century. Consequently, Sovern succeeds in creating poems full of sharpness and preciseness. He writes about Salvador Dali, the famous surrealist artist:
"he
was in
my dream
last night
Picasso was
there
too".
The following lines show that Sovern is able to create 'pictorially sensuous' style revealing the effect of painting on his poetry:
“Salvador
sat strapped
by two sea serpents
to the hood of the
bus with the sculpture” (‘The Salvador Dali Blues’, p 18).
There can hardly be a better description of surrealism:
“Picasso sat
in the crimson
lipped back seat
with a nude and
a musician playing
Dylan on a mandolin
the melody
floating
in the translucent
velvet air” (p. 19).
Another remarkable poem 'The Postmodern Artist Blues' seems to be a conscious reaction against the sterility of contemporary values:
tomorrow
i will set
my artwork
on
fire (p. 25)
Sovern's imagination seems to be haunted by his quest of Peace and Beauty. The poem 911 captures the mood of horror amid the turmoil of naked barbarism. By the use of refrain, the poet's words and thoughts seem to sing together:
"planes
have always
been
crashing
bombs
have always
been
falling…
but
this was
surreal be
burned to death
or jump from
the 105
floor", (p. 69).
Dryden remarked: "By the harmony of sounds we allurethe soul". By a deft use of repeating several times
"planes
have always
been
crashing',
Sovern is creating rhythmical effects and music of a full orchestra. Sovern's first collection of poems The Architecture of Me leaves no doubt in my mind that he is destined to become a powerful force in contemporary world poetry.
The Architecture of Me: Selected Poems by William Sovern, Wasteland Press, USA, 2003, pp. 78, $ 12, ISBN 0-9724289-9-2.
