Zine Review: Shake Hands with the Man In My Hand by Daryl Gussin

Written by A. Iwasa

Review of the new chapbook by Razorcake writer and zine maker Daryl Gussin.

Like punk and hardcore, prose poetry is meant to be heard live.  It's not just the art; it's the crowd, venues, the way the poet read, banter between poems.

But much like recordings and reviews can spark interest or bring back memories, chap books are the 'zines of the poetry world.  This effort by Razorcake and Spokenest's Daryl Gussin is well worth the read.

Published in Los Angeles this year, the rebellion against ICE last year is addressed somewhat playfully in the second poem, "Two Onions and a Potato," without trivializing the events.  The rest of the chap book runs basically the rest of the whole spectrum of human emotion from the hopeful, idealistic hanging on of the first poem, "Belly Fat," the petty jealousy of "Young Couple" whose title practically says it all, to the darkness of school shooting in "A Love Poem for Big Lu" and "I Know."

It's all the same kind of down to earth, slice of life material that attracted me to and keeps me into specific hardcore and punk acts and writers.  Whether poems about public transit which are my favorite, slipping on shit, or an intense and random conversation with a committed dog person at a laundromat; it's all literally about holding on to the little things that make life worth it, without ignoring the things that ruin lives.

Being able to write about Love without being corny, and sex without bragging; it's about embracing the good and trying to overcome the bad.  Dreaming without being overcome by fantasy or nightmares.

But really, if you get the chance, try to go hear Gussin perform live, that's where the magic is.

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Available through There's Only Peace In Death Press
darylgussin.com