Reactor

by Judith Vollmer

Reactor gives voice to beloved and ruined American landscapes through extended meditations of an urban mystical wanderer.

Genres: Poetry

106 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2004

Reviews

[Colin]

I wanted to like this collection for its subject matter and it’s Pennsylvania-centric-ness, but I thought the poems lacked dimension and it was all a bit forgettable. Really great epigraph choices, though (one from Derek S Scammell, “ex-limo driver to the Beatles, triple-tour Vietnam veteran, & National Nuclear Administration guide to the proposed US nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain…” for example). I love a poetry collection with a firm umbrella to stand under (nuclear testing sites / post-industrial side-effects here), so I tip my hat to that, I guess.

[Amanda]

The first section has a slippery quality which seemed to fit the subject manner of nuclear waste. These poems are crafted well. I enjoyed some more than others.

[Rosa Alcala]

Really terrific, esp. the first poem, "Yucca Mountain Sequence."