SHOOTOUT AT THE POETRY FACTORY by Lawrence Barrett, reviewed by Merritt Waldon

 

Available on Amazon

Once I started reading Shootout At The Poetry Factory, I was thrown aback by the honesty with which this book was written. It begins with a quote by Walt Whitman, “Re-examine all you have been told... dismiss whatever insults your soul.” 

10 Cancer 

I am a cancer 

of white and purple T-cells 

generations
roasted like tits on a spit 

a cancer of bars
and woods, moonless 

I stop, pass, and lean; 

musing, gazing, hounding, 

the lone glare of hunting, 

frothing, stretch’d & stiffening, 

leathered and lathered; 

a procreant world 

inviting end days - 

hands press the dark 

From the start Barrett’s voice is strong and clear, sharing intimate details of his life during a time of grave physical illness. There are also many reflections on his past, his military service, philosophy of life, dreams, all in one perfect batch of poems.

31 Brood of Veterans 

Dressed
in camouflage
and a cool black hat -
I am real like the prickly edge 

and cut smell of new grass; 

real like three IDs,
GPS locations,
and digital fingerprints; 

real like sadness,
alien abductions,
no phone calls,
sleeping in my car;
like sirens seizing my testicles, 

like a black horse of anxiety 

swift born, hot and fast, 

upon this floor of paradise 

This book is a conversation between the man, the poet, the world and all which is invisible and near the heart of history, leading us to a better understanding of one being’s journey through life.  I hold this book up and offer it is a worthy testament of a human being who has seen war, and the hardships of major illness. In poetic expression he displays understanding, hope and acceptance that ultimately all of it is fleeting and beautiful.  I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book which has the poet/man/warrior offering a unique voice. Indeed in Shootout at the Poetry Factory, this poet gives us all of himself, without blinking.

40 Swing of Trees 

lifting steins of forgetfulness 

and drinking the world 

glimmering names 

songs of living myths 

I slip into union 

calm and refuge 

hawks and crows 

I hear tongues

 

of hurricanes 

speaking 

angry rain
and eternal life 

careening off 

a lean of trees 

INTERVIEW: 

Merritt Waldon: Tell us a little bit about Lawrence, please,

and what was the original catalyst that led you to poetry?

Lawrence Barrett:  I was born in Washington D.C., grew up in Maryland and spent 20 years in the Army. I’ve lived all over the world. I have three beautiful grandchildren and a wonderful spouse. I am truly blessed. I feel that a little longevity has allowed me to grow spiritually as perhaps mirrored in my verse. Regardless, poetry is my journey.

I cracked open my first book of poems around the age of 14, It was a little green book of German poems translated by Walter Kaufmann. I discovered a world ordered by the beauty, depth and music of words. It was love at first sight. I knew I was a poet before I ever wrote a poem. Schiller, Goethe and Rilke led me to Shelley, Yeats and Keats and so on…

 

MW: What, if any would you say is your poetics? 

LB:   A good first line, a couple metaphors, syncopated rhythm, homemade words, run-on sentences, modern topics, classical themes, humor, layers of meaning, naked honesty, haiku-moments, color, sweat, tears, farts, and a good ending. The funny thing is that this personal conception of a poem is ingrained or natural. When I put the first word to a blank page I have no clue where it’s going – it’s a mental journey where I get to experience the discovery of new thoughts. My title is always last. Whether or not it’s a good poem, that’s a completely separate issue.

 

MW:  In a search on Google, a name that popped up with yours on one of the search results I found was John Updike.  Have you ever read any of his work? 

LB:   I was never really exposed to the writing of John Updike except for an occasional poem or quotation. I am honored that Google somehow associates me with such a super nova as John Updike but there is no real comparison.

MW:  I noticed a lot of repeated subject matter in some of your poems: pills, adult themes, and seemingly aloofness at times in the rhythmic performance of life. Did you have fun working on this book? It seems a lot of your writing is spontaneous.

LB:  From beginning to end this book was a happening. The poems just poured out like never before. Writing poetry is always fun, but its work. At times it felt like a duty or calling. Many times I’d be sitting in my car in a hospital parking lot composing (writing) on my cell phone. My poetry is more of a spontaneous act than a pre-planned one. About halfway through a piece I can see where it’s going.The repetition of themes I accept as part of the natural flow of life, day to day, much like recurring musical themes in a symphony. We always gravitate back to who we are and what works. It was a really chaotic time to write with all the different issues going on: COVID, cancer, PTSD, diabetes, wearing masks, friends arguing about statues, BLM, the downfall of liberalism and rise of American fascism, acceptance of death, and the natural feeling to strive on and reach for something higher…Yeah, it was fun…

 

MW: if you had one statement or had something to tell the whole world before it was too late....  What would it be?

LB: Write Damn It!

 

Lawrence Barrett, a retired U.S. Army and Iraqi war veteran, as well as a native Marylander and transplant El Pasoan, is the author of nine self-published works: Letters from the Meat Market of Paradise (2009), Drum Song (2012), Radical Jazz (2014); Threads of Latitude (2017), Love Poems for the End of The World (2018), Cosmic Onions (2019), Yell Louder Please (2019), Theory of Stealing Bicycles (2020) and Shootout at the Poetry Factory (2021). He has an MA in Human Resources from Webster University and has resided in El Paso for the last twenty years. Lawrence has been published in El Paso Magazine (Nov 2008), Mezcla: Art & Writing from the Tumble Words Poetry Project (2009), Calaveras Fronterizas (2009), Dining and Fun (2010), An Anthology of Beat Texas Writing (2016) and online at the Newspaper Tree.  He has been interviewed by Paperback Swap; and three of his books have been reviewed by Unlikely Stories. Lawrence Barrett has been a featured reader at the Barbed Wire Readings hosted by Border Senses. He has presented poetry workshops for the El Paso Writer’s League and the Tumble Words Poetry Project. He has had the honor of reading his poetry twice on the Monica Gomez “State of the Arts” Radio Program. Lawrence has also published art in magazines and online and in a self-publication of his art, INNERFREQUENCIES (2019). His works are available at Amazon.com.