Wheelchair Dancer By David Pointer

Local poet David Pointer has released a book of poems titled, “Wheelchair Dancer.” He follows in the steps of history’s political poets, playing the role in society that we desperately need poets to play. He expresses his outrage over recent U.S. politics and champions the causes of the underdog.

There’s certainly plenty to be upset about, but Pointer is no loose cannon. He picks his spots admirably, taking up the causes of poverty, corporate greed, and our country’s war crimes.

“Abu Ghraib”

torture applied

to the Koran too

frost frisk

a prisoner

then beheading

terrorists one way

troops another

shell explodes

camel falls

and a child too

The poet’s style definitely is of the Beat era, adapting the pointed free verse of Corso and Bukowski. I think of Pointer as The Buk with a stable home life and a social conscience. As a consequence of this free verse form, Pointer’s words are forced to carry nearly all of meaning’s burden. Formal elements are of little significance with breaks and punctuation seeming almost arbitrarily placed. This is more a criticism of the style of free verse, though, of which Pointer is a master. He evokes the look and feel of 60’s free verse and makes it convincing, but I have to wonder where the influence of contemporary verse comes into play.

All things considered, I enjoyed the book. There’s lots to appreciate about Pointer’s work, which he illuminates with brilliant images scattered like suggestions that lead to the creation of a cohesive whole. In “Consuela,” this is especially prominent:

She had

no sunlit

silver walker

or high cost

collapsible

wheelchair

just four

curb worthy

casters under

an oblong oak

board cushioned

by a tan star