I Hear It the Way I Want It to Be
Kelsay Books
$16.50
You can purchase a copy here.
Reviewed by Katch Campbell
Unlike the double exposition, typical of classical concertos, in which the orchestra presents material while the soloist quietly waits to highlight theme; think Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1, David Kozinski’s I Hear It the Way I Want It to Be (Kelsay Books 2022) gives immediate voice to the narrator, his subject, and the readers undeniable journey through a life. Experienced as memoir, the book’s three sections are powerfully balanced. Built like a centrifugal “fly-ball” governor the two “ends” are attached to a central axel in section II. When reading front to back (or in the reverse,) Kozinski chooses his words and poetic order to intensify cadence and build momentum mimicking life. Just when we get our feet steadily under us, life gets going and then rarely slows down. What is delightful about this recreated momentum, is that the reader can allow themselves to be safely swept away, allowing the images (vivid, vulnerable, deliciously feral) and alliteration to current them along because, like the “fly-ball,” section II provides a governor. Kozinski seems to naturally employ his comprehension of cadence both inside each poem and in how he links them as a set.
Here is a stanza from “I Think That’s Where I Put Them.”
Time liquefies, stretches like light.
What’s left are forgetting and travel
And always peaks and glens
Cut into a world that can be water, gas or ice.
Unlocked, a channel reveals
An island monastery
Where I looked back from a great height.
Like everybody, I write what I remember;
And, as mentioned above, last lines from section I poems skillfully link ideas and drive the reader deep into the narrative.
“If you liked that you’re going to love this…” (from “And then”)
“I banged away at it as long as I could.” (from “Little Hunters”)
“a better strategy for knocking down kings.” (from “I Hear It the Way I Want It to Be”)
This linked end line technique is again seen in section III: “what I did with my hands.” (from “What to Do With Anything)”; “retrace my trespasses.” (from “Earthly Places”); “where every story runs in its own time.”( from “Theory of Relativity”); “where torchlight and shadow vie in the grizzled hills.” (from “November”).
Section III drives the reader toward the final poem:
Planet of the Uncluttered Mind
There is a distant place
Where the one-word poem is highly valued.
It can describe a tangible thing
A thought or emotion
Or comprise a combination of what words do.
It can take the poet years
Sometimes a lifetime
While the word evolves.
“I’m not going there.”
The whimsical adolescence of section I is linked to the ken wisdom of Section III by, what Chopin would call, a Larghetto. Section II, one poem crafted over seven pages, is highly lyrical, and creates the calm relief of reverie. Kozinski still uses evocative language in this respite, it is by no means mundane but, it does allow the reader a breath to continue traveling. And the reader, depending on mood, may choose to travel time in either direction.
I Hear It the Way I Want It to Be is a book built on duality yet perfectly balanced. Highly complex though able to be enjoyed without lengthy analysis. The imagery is full of vigor and play yet poignant, and at times contemplative. While a sense of closure is offered, the reader is also left with a space to question their own story and ask, “what’s next?” This is a book for the open road.
Katch Campbell is a connector. With a master’s degree in Science and an MFA in poetry, she creates metaphors for her patients and others about the world around us. Her work is an inquiry on the atrocities we commit consciously and unconsciously against each other and the universe. Katch serves as Vice President and is a permanent faculty member at the River Pretty Writing Retreat, a bi-annual workshop in the Ozarks. She has co-led immersive poetry trips to Slovenia and Italy and used to edit for ZoMag.com.