cover image Near at Hand: Poems

Near at Hand: Poems

James D. Whitehead. University of Missouri Press, $18.95 (55pp) ISBN 978-0-8262-0877-4

Whitehead's ( Domains ) new volume consists mostly of narratives, in the tradition of Robert Frost, Edgar Lee Masters and Edwin Arlington Robinson. The persona in most poems is that of the aging down-home man who fears God and loves country music: ``The song he'd played was `Ramblin Man,' by Hank. / I said `Sublime,' then ordered us a drink.'' He gives portraits of the country doctor in the deep South (a woman who lives alone), poems in the voice of a traveling college-textbook salesman and a Cajun music star. This countrified persona is not often found in contemporary poetry, but Whitehead unfortunately isn't gifted enough to render his unique vision in words. Too many pieces attempt to turn trivialities into major undertakings: praise on the publication of a friend's book, an anniversary poem, a birthday poem that begins, ``Somebody better praise these home occasions / Or we'll all stay out in the street full time.'' Many speakers are obsessed with sex, such as the man who ``Imagined for their marriage / Curious pleasures she found pitiful.'' There's a pretentiousness throughout; the poet seems to be turning up his nose at the very people he writes about. (Apr.)