Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
A collection of poems examining mysticism, the working class, and the American Dream.
I've recently decided to get back into poetry, with a particular focus on reading more from current poets, and Saturday Night Sage is just about the perfect example of the poetry I love. I ordered a physical copy before I even finished the digital manuscript because I knew it was one I'd want to return to, fill with notes, highlights, and creases, until it turned into a much worn, but much loved resident of my shelves.
The rhythm is often musical, and the imagery as beautiful as it is gritty. Most importantly, it evoked so many feelings--from my own blue collar upbringing and adulthood, to my love of the beat poets. It made me want to listen to Tom Waits and Patti Smith while reading Howl. It got me thinking about all the times as a child I would stay up way to late to listen to loggers get drunk and swap tall tales and dirty jokes. It made me want to send screenshots of various poems to old friends to take us back to when we would stay up all night drinking cheap wine and talk about art and dreams. And what more can you ask from poetry, but to make you feel so strongly and specifically?
So many people love to romanticize the working class, while making it painfully obvious they don't understand it all. Lekas has that understanding, and has created a folk hero of sorts that's as much salt of the earth as he is stardust. I wholeheartedly recommend Saturday Night Sage to both poetry lovers, and those who have felt intimidated by poetry.
Saturday Night Sage by Noah Lekas is available now from Blind Owl Records
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