The Fuck Generation (poems), 2007
Review of The Fuck Generation by Laurel Johnson of Midwest Book Review
Survivor
by Alexander Shaumyan
ISBN ISBN 978-1-59916-374-1
108 pages at 12.00 paperback, which includes s and h
www.shaumyan.com or alex@shaumyan.com for orders
Alexander Shaumyan immigrated to the U.S. from Russia with his family
in 1975. His personal poetry and Russian translations are well known
internationally. This is his tenth full length book of poetry. In
it, he's no longer the sheltered innocent dreaming of unconditional
love. His eyes are wide open; he sees the world around him for what
it is. Humans have become a generation of selfish, perverted, spoiled
technocrats, living in a dangerous world where no one is safe anymore.
This excerpt from the title poem sets the tone:
And we knew somehow
That there was no one to save us
From ourselves --
No gods, no karma, no military,
No peace corps, nor futile protest
Marches on Washington.
In Shaumyan's view, we have become "second hand people living off
recycled / words that offer neither substance / nor meaning." This is
true in poetry as well as politics. His growing cynicism is clear in
"I Don't Want to be a Poet:"
I don't want to be a poet
Just to be heard by other
Poets or would be poets
At some phony
Open mike poetry
Readings or poetry
Slams with everyone
Desperate for attention --
As humans, our place in the Universe is not destined for memorable
greatness. Consider the last verse of "Old Dudes in Metaphysical
Jungles:"
But the circus goes on undetected even now --
With all the claims of omnipotence
And omniscience, we are still too damn small
For this universe.
"Another Uplifting Poem" demonstrates this poet's use of brilliant
sarcasm in the face of reality, where only a poem stands between life
and a man with a gun to his head:
It was another uplifting poem,
Masquerading as the meaning of life,
And those who took little sips from it
Felt a little better during the day
Because the poem was their friend
Like a get-well card or a call from
That special someone with its
Huggy-poo and lovey-doo
Type of fuzzy nonsense...
Shaumyan's world is awash with "posers, losers, junkies, and
self-important thugs." His brilliant mind cannot absorb the awful
truths. He searches for solace in the beauty of nature or love, but
visions of bombed buildings, scorched earth, and helpless victims of
greed and war haunt him:
I've seen pompous old men
Profess higher truths,
And children mangled,
Murdered and starved,
Or sold to the highest
Bidder --
Readers will find no huggy-poo or lovey-poo types of fuzzy nonsense
here. These poems are Shaumyan's unflinching view of our modern
world. His words are scalpels that dissect pretenses, hypocrisy,
greed, politics, and war. If you haven't read Shaumyan's work, I
recommend you start with this book.
Laurel Johnson
Midwest Book Review