Review of Steve Delia’s Poetry Time
October 21, 2020
Steve Delia’s Poetry Time is so full of poetic turns and topics that fitting them all into one review has proved challenging. This collection of poems from the prolific Philadelphia writer spans themes from wry observations on daily life, joyful memories, and crushing loss. The book also employs an interesting thematic structure, wherein each chapter is organized by topic and is preceded by brief memoir-style essays. Poetry Time’s structure keeps Delia’s diverse poetical journeys focused so that we as readers can experience the wonderful verse contained.
The opening poem, “Ghost Box,” sets us up for what is coming: autobiographical poems full of vivid memory. On opening this metaphorical box, the speaker finds “immediately the air changed my spine.” This collection is full of moments like these – visceral words that compel the reader to feel the physical and emotional sensations the poems describe.
As “Ghost Box” continues, the speaker decides to leave the box open, but he remains uncertain if this is a good idea:
I leave the box open
not sure if spirits sleep
or return to their own world
not knowing if the box
is castle or coffin
Opening the box is what these poems do best, but this first poem lets us know that such an action is not without risk.
I enjoyed the collection as a whole, but I found that each section stood up on its own — almost like a mini-chapbook exploring a particular theme. My favorite of these sections was Section IV: Sandy, which expounds on the relationship Delia shared with Sandy Becker, a fellow poet who was a great friend and influence before her untimely death. In “Suicide,” we find the speaker confronting the tragic moment leading up to her death. Pondering those last moments, Delia describes the terrible sound of the gunshot that ended Sandy’s life:
Such a loud sound
for one so soft
such a violent act
for one so gentle
This section reminds me of the famous Hemingway quote that advises us to “write hard and clear about what hurts.” The poems in Section IV certainly do that. It attempts to say goodbye to someone who was as “elegant as a flame,” while admitting to not “know[ing] what’s on the other side.”
While Poetry Time recognizes the pathos of great loss, it is also not without humor and wit. This is especially true of “Poem on the Run,” which finds the speaker struggling with a poem “short on patience,” and who “gives revision the finger.” We find this poem “high on caffeine,”
…a revved up engine
as it yells eat my dust
see you later adverbs
This ill-behaved poem provides a moment of levity, but we also see how its hectic creation causes it to be both “instantly born, instantly vintage.” “Poem on the Run” is perhaps the most fun ars poetica I’ve read, and it was a joy to follow its wild ride.
Poetry Time shows us that poetry makes time for all of life’s emotions and experiences. This is a tall order for one book, but its concise structure and compelling choice of words and themes keeps the reader coming back for more. In this wonderful collection, Steve Delia invites us in to experience the big moments of his life through the use of autobiographical details and quick wit. This collection is brave enough to face the difficult moments while keeping us laughing in between.
Brooke Palma grew up in Philadelphia and currently lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Many of her poems focus on the connections between culture and identity and finding beauty in the everyday. Her work has been published in The Mad Poets’ Review, Moonstone Arts, Toho Journal, and E-Verse Radio (online), and work is forthcoming in Unbearables: A Global Anthology (to be released on November 2, 2020). Her chapbook, Conversations Unfinished, was published by Moonstone Press in August 2019. She hosts the Livin’ on Luck Poetry Series at Barnaby’s West Chester.