Review: R. Emolo Give-Out Sheets, June 2009

Various Authors
Poetry
3 pages
8 ½” x 11” broadside
R. Emolo
Paterson, New Jersey
Review originally published on 6/29/09

R. Emolo is famous for his give-out sheets — scribbled pages of poetry, pen pal addresses, mail art, and blurbed info in an add-to-it-and-pass-it-on fashion. They are mostly quick reads, a few pages in length, and fairly sloppy cut-n-paste, DIY, in the vein of poetic mail art. I am on the mailing list and receive a new packet of give-out sheets periodically, every couple weeks or so, free of any charge. This latest set contains the poetry of R. Emolo and some pasted address contact ads.

Emolo’s poetry is experimental, a mishmash of non-linear words crushed together into phonetics and alliterate flowings. They are clearly sporadic thoughts strewn on paper in a rhythmic train-jump, complete stream-of-consciousness writing. If you are into experimental, free-flowing poetry, this will be up your alley. Also, if you are looking to connect to penpals, then this is always a good resource for the independent press and for mailart contacts.

Review: For Dave Church, Poet: A Tribute #3 in Memoriam

From “Poetry Wafting Thru The Air,” an ode to poets entertaining a reader without the necessity of TV:

Hawthorne Muchachos
Marching band.

Mediterranean Ocean.

Make 3-D more 3-D’er.
[ … ]
They took TV away & didn’t
replace it with TV.

Emolo’s writing is often hard to comprehend, but it’s interesting to see the progression of sounds from one line to another, to try to follow the train as it skips from track to track.