Stan Apps in ACTION YES!

I have long been a fan of Stan's poetry, and he knows this.

What I really enjoy about this piece , not just enjoy but what stands it out for me is the ability of the piece to exhaust the metaphor/allusion/imagery going on (I use all three because all three happen) and, as a result, to then create new metaphors/allusions/imagery. I like what Stan has been doing for awhile because I see his work as tapping into -- not only bathos and/or cutesy (a word that always looks like courtesy to me) -- but also what I want to whimsically refer to as Child Poetry (not Children's Poetry nor Childlike Poetry nor Childish Poetry). I mean this in the best way, but mostly I mean it because his recent work which I've read combines "adult" observation and concerns with images borrowed from the observations of a child. They're textured and provocative (e.g., the snot example in the above-linked piece in ACTION YES). This voice speaks from a position of passive authority. It doesn't tell you to obey nor that it's observations are unique. But it's a position from which, in many ways, more can be said because more is possible when it's uncertain which position of authority is addressing us. Call it magical realism that's not annoying and that doesn't involve aunts n' uncles who levitate. Call this child voice an attempt to disrupt our signs.

It's a strong piece of writing. I know because before I read it, I was tired of poetry and writing about writing and poetry. This kind of writing usually uses words like PoBiz, whose meaning only people within PoBiz understand. And so even if you'd rather not read more pieces on poetry and its loss/lack of accessibility, this piece will have you reconsider.