Desperate Times
By Charles Cooper
Poet's Book Gets High Marks,
February 10, 2002
Reviewer: Jay Waitkus from Boynton Beach, Florida USA
Combining free verse with traditional rhyme schemes and experimental
formats, Charles Cooper's Desperate Times is the work of a writer
at the height of his poetic skill. Dividing his book into twelve
sections, Cooper takes the reader along with him on a perilous
psychological journey through love, madness, and pain.
Though the poet's mastery of his craft is enhanced by numerous
references to great writers of the past, notably Ralph Waldo Emerson,
A.E. Housman, and T.S. Eliot, clearly it is Cooper's own poetic gift
that carries the day. Often varying his writing style from one poem to
another, and even stanza-to-stanza, Cooper makes excellent use of rhythm
in a number of offerings, particularly his beatnik-inspired effort, "The
Black Bleeding Heart Beats Alone," and provides readers with searing
portrayals of the human condition in eloquently rendered poems like
"Failure" and "The Wastrel."
It is probably safe to assume that some readers who come to Cooper's
book with a built-in faith presupposition will not like every line they
read. A few of his jabs at religion are rather irreverent to be sure,
although it would be unfair to say his book devalues religious thought
entirely. In the end, Desperate Times is a stellar effort for Cooper, a
literary work true to its author's vision and triumphant in its poetic
craftsmanship.
BOOK REVIEW
by
Shirley Roe
Book Category: Poetry
Desperate Times is a collection of
poetry by Charles Cooper written and assembled over more than 8 years of
his life, which does indeed read as a journey. Mr. Cooper is a graduate
of Palm Beach Atlantic College and the originator of the PBAC Poetry
Society. Currently pursuing his graduate education at Old Dominion
University, he spends his time with family and continues his writing.
While journeying through this book, the reader is
skillfully led from one poem to the next in anticipation. This skillful
direction can be seen in “Declared Love” which concludes:
“We would be married on the morrow,
“No later,” she said
And our separate lives would end.”
Leading subtly to “In Holy Matrimony”
“The morrow came with the night far away
Expectancy grew for the marriage today,….”
What appeals most to the reader is the depth of
emotion evoked in this poetry. The reader cannot avoid becoming
emotionally involved in this search for self. This emotional connection
is apparent in “Finding Peace”:
Would the journey was the goal,
Would the fountain was my soul,
Forever spouting the words of the universal night.
Or “Introspection of a Loner”
I am destroying my own self,
From the inside to the outside,
No man could defeat me,
So to myself I bring demise.
Many references are made to Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Roger Waters, Dylan Thomas, Robert Browning and other great poets
throughout this work and the influence of these great men is evident in
the poetry of Charles Cooper.
Desperate Times is full of diversity in
both structure and content. The words and patterns hold the attention
and keep the reader focused. In the author’s poetry, anxiety and
concern over lost love, faith undone, and a search for the soul are
balanced with the power of truth and love. It reflects desperate times
indeed for this poet, who has expressed his spiritual journey in a
well-written, inspirational collection that leaves the reader believing
poetry is his life and all of life is poetry.
I end this review with a quote from the final poem in
this collection:
“The barge was prepared and the poet laid there,
The ship now shoved off from its isle.
The arrow flew; the night away
By flames into the night to see
The procession standing cold and silent.
As the poet went to be.”
