Last week I got a nice little present in the mail. One copy of Little Feather, written by Elias Van Son. I liked it as soon as I opened it up (Elias wrote me a nice note). Oh yeah also I like the poems lol.
Before I get into the review, I would just like to make mention of Elias’ name… The Son… as in… Son GOKU?
Sorry but the name is cool.
Anyways, Little Feather is a rather hefty collection of poems. Around 125 pages in length, the book is split into two parts: ‘singing’, and ‘seeking’. As the summary states, “It is a farewell to boyhood and the makings of a man”. So, as children party and live according to the senses, adults look for a deeper meaning behind life. A pretty cool concept and it’s reflected pretty well in Elias’ pieces.
Expanding a little bit on this idea, as I had talked to Neon and Jacob before putting out a review (to make sure I even knew what I was talking about) I did the same to Elias, and he mentioned a couple things. He said that the poems reflect a childish point in his life, and that they were selfish but well-meaning. I find that perfect. This book is practically a log of that process of transformation.
The poems range from psychedelic and fantastic to simple and wise. However, Elias consistently stitches his words like a true poet. I am not sure what his background is, but he appears competently disciplined, and well aware of the words he chooses, and is really good at creating cool images. His pieces are well crafted, and poetic. Poetic poems. I can’t really think of a better way to describe it. You ever like read a novel, or listen to some song lyrics, and they’re like poetic because of the depth, décor, and imagery associated with them? That’s like Elias work. If you like put it to song, somebody a little high would probably be like, “no listen dude it’s like poetry”.
My favorite piece in ‘singing’ is found early on. ‘6 12 08 1200 AM’ (under the stars in the table of contents). I pretty much like any reference towards gazing at the night sky, and this short piece is pretty much like one.
under the stars
on the hood of my car
eyes endlessly sway in
the hammock of heaven
Many other pieces in ‘singing’ are full of imagery, and nature and setting. But a lot of them are cryptic, and vague. I’m not complaining though. Elias said a lot of these poems were selfish. A lot of these pieces must come from personal experiences. ‘Singing’, to me, seemed like a personal song in a foreign language. Beautiful, even if you don’t understand all the words. You can still pick up on key things, and feel some of the vibrant struggles and experiences from this period of Elias’ life.
What really drew me in was the second half of Little Feather. Where I liked a lot of the feel for ‘singing’, I liked a lot of the meaning in ‘seeking’. My favorite piece? Damn. If I had to pick, do let the firefly. If you’ve read any of my other stuff on this blog, you probably figured I like bugs. LOL. But that’s not just it for this poem. For me, I felt this was a perfect piece in contrasting the dynamic and sometimes uncontrollable (at least emotionally) nature of youth versus the contemplative and restrained adult.
do do not
let the firefly clench a neon
read your fortune fist in anger
Pretty cool.
Granted, a lot of this is my own interpretation. I dunno if that’s what Elias was talking about when he wrote these poems. Vivid and vague. That’s how I would describe the overall feeling I got from Little Feather. If those two words appeal to you, then I recommend giving some of his poetry a go.
For anyone interested, here's a link to a free pdf. Please check it out. It really is an awesome read.
http://www.mediafire.com/?yexzwwniizn
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