Paper Radio

by Damian Rogers

This is a fractured memoir, steeped in the language and images Rogers was raised Kipling’s Just So Stories, Dorothy Parker quips, song lyrics, Beat diatribes, the visual gymnastics of cummings, Victorian children’s stories, fairy tales, and the crumbling beauty and very real danger of downtown Detroit. Rogers’ writing is closely related to the lyrical tradition, though she’s also interested in narrative, mystery, memory, and the possibilities for language to create an emotional effect on a reader. Rogers is drawn to the nature of utopian impulses ― from nineteenth century spiritual movements to 1960s radicalism to our hopes for Obama ― and the ways these impulses break down. Research subjects The Shakers, John Sinclair, the MC5, communes, hippie cookbooks, shamanism, Surrealism, Detroit and Joseph Cornell.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Damian Rogers was born and raised in suburban Detroit and now lives in Toronto. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a graduate degree from the Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College. She is the author of Dear Leader (Coach House Books, 2015) and Paper Radio (ECW Press, 2009). She is the poetry editor at House of Anansi Press, the creative director of Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie, the poetry editor at The Walrus and co-host with Jason Collett of the music and literary performance series the Basement Revue.

Reviews

[Enikő · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't believe I haven't read this since 2010. I don't even recognize the person who wrote the previous review. Here are my thoughts today:
I can't honestly say I get all these poems, but they sure are fun to read.
Voilà.

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My review from 2010:
This is one of those books you can read on and on, I think. :o)
I was hooked right from the first poem (Redbird - I think it was the use of French that made me smile. Also, it is kind of like a poetic version of one of my favourite Salvador Dali paintings (The Hallucinogenic Toreador), except that for Damian Rogers the inspiration was a matchbox, not a pencil box.)
I read the poems one after the other, getting some, not getting others, but then it occurred to me that a book of poems is to be read something like the way the Bible should be read: not cover-to-cover, but taking what you need from it every day. So now I am flipping through the pages, stopping along the way. I find that I have in this way stumbled upon the right poem at the right time, and that they have more meaning to me in this way. I don't know if I am reading what Damian Rogers intended for me to understand in the poems, but I am happy with my interpretations.
Final comment : it is nice to be reading poetry again. It had been a while...

[Seven Pesos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting rid of a bunch of old books I've read over the years.

Never actually finished this. Didn't even come close. I don't really like poetry. Why am I writing this. I'm attached to this book because I was still a freshman in University, very excited about life, and I found this book at a communal book swap on campus. I liked the cover. I've had this book for quite some time and the physical copy I have holds a special place in my memory. Couldn't care less for the contents.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting collection. I'm not really that qualified to give a review of a poetry collection, at least when it comes to discussing all the technical aspects that make the poems great and all the imagery and stuff. All I know is what I like, and I do like a lot. Of these poems, my favourites are the ones where Damian tells a definite story, like "Autobiography" or "Better Living Through Industry". I also liked "Biography". The appearance of a red bird throughout the book was also a clever touch. I'm very glad Greg recommended this book -- it's interesting and just challenging enough for me to want to explore it in greater depth.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this collection of poems. There was excellent use of repetition of images, strands of myth and pop culture and an overall darkness to the collection that I appreciated.

Read with the author in Toronto.