Iggy Horse

Starred review from April 17, 2023
Craig (Woods and Clouds Interchangeable) combines absurdity, thoughtful engagement with language, and linguistic play in his humorous latest. Artfully constructed poems show how a mind moves through associations, allowing the reader to observe the path of neurons firing from connection to connection: “I extend one foot out/ from under the covers./ The cover of night./ The album’s cover./ The barbecue’s, its/ rustic joie de vivre in/ waxed cotton duck.” The levity throughout encourages the reader to follow the oddly logical thought process behind them, as in “Pep Talk to Self Eating Salad at Airport”: “Montana is the Italy of the New World./ Montana is God’s Italy./ Montana is the Italy of the people./ It’s the real Italy./ Italy is Montana./ Montana, the Italy of God./ Yes./ Like Italy only different.” There is a critical eye at work in these pages; the poem “Underfoot” begins with an image that hauntingly captures a sense of collapse: “The forest floor feels almost spongy with twigs/ made from decomposing pianos.” Other poems betray a philosophical suspicion toward language, as when the speaker witnesses a flock of birds “flutter up like sacred/ soap-flake eunuch moths” and reflects on “the gaudiness of poetry.” These pages deliver a winning combination of uncanny discernment and irreverence.