While I enjoy poetry I’ve never been one to purchase a book of collected poems, I’m much more of a narrative kind of girl. But when your (favorite) high school English teacher publishes his collected poems, well… that’s a decent motivation to buy a book!
The Corpse Pose is divided into several sections. One features poems written during the years he spent in West Papua, and another section covers the process of mediation and divorce from his former wife. Both are interesting, albeit quite different. Campbell’s style is full of quotes, references, and literary allusions, only some of which I am well-read enough to catch. (Or maybe we just read different things.) But he has a knack for writing casually, almost lackadaisically, about a topic and then dropping a line that makes your heart crack.
The Corpse Pose was a fascinating glimpse of the internal life of a person I’d always held on a bit of a pedestal. There was something really interesting about seeing this side of someone I’d only known in a limited setting. The poems were maybe not my preferred style (I’m a sucker for structured works, even if my main contributions to the art are free prose), but were gripping nonetheless. If you can get your hands on a copy, I’d recommend it.