The Portrait Gallery
by Jack Galmitz
*
I stumbled in
to the afterhours club
and there stood Herman
*
In his locker
Joe had a pinup
of Marilyn Chambers
*
Jerome met Betty
on the rollercoaster
she was retching
*
Mr. Smith was bald
his students thought
he was always
*
Mr. Levine
had a dog
then he died
*
Dunlop knew it
he told it to Humphries
now he’s dead
These poems are conceptual although they read quite straightforwardly. My idea was to show those who were writing poetry that decimated grammar, syntax, and meaning that poetic language was no different than ordinary language and that aporia or uncertainty of meaning could be achieved in the most plainspoken English. The lack of finality of meaning simply accompanied language as a matter of course. The poems, I find, are a bit funny and hopefully are read that way.
Jack Galmitz writes with a straightforward formality; the reader fills in the gaps of the story. For example, we guess that Jerome marries Betty, amusement park romance by puke. Dog’s have expiration dates like people do, still, Mr. Levine liked dogs, kept one until he died. The short-poem-narratives are told in light, pithy, three-line punchlines.
Thank you Paul. Even seemingly simple poems require an interaction with the reader and never give up their full meaning.