At first glance these poems (which read like one long odyssey) seem sweet and peaceful鈥攍ike taking a walk in the woods. But then, things turn darker: a storm blows in鈥攁nd with it some Aliens, Ghost and Ghoul, the Hanging Man. Luckily, Carlyle has a few good friends such as Ruth, the Hag, the Boy, who are staunch and true and faithful. A whistling-in-the-dark suspense alternately stimulates and enervates the witness.
鈥淐arlyle is spore, and mild. / He is swoon &sherbet.鈥 Endearing and kind, if not actually cruel, he is also cold and strange. He shapeshifts, transforming into Magician and Jester, Surgeon and Scientist, Cloud; he studies fire and mirrors and bores holes in his own skull, looking for heaven. Throughout his many adventures, which range from the ludicrous to the life-threatening, he flies into the light and carries the reader with him on his perplexing and fanciful journey.
In Carlyle's universe, the stars
are inured to speculation鈥
When Carlyle takes a stroll
through his universe
with his hands folded
behind his back鈥攕ee
how they make an L
for love?鈥攚ith his cheeks
puffed out he is whistling
in the dark a tune
nobody ever heard before,
but with which, after鈥攁ll
will become enchanted.
鈥淗azners鈥 Carlyle is an imagination made carnate, then given short-pants and free rein. The result is a rumbustious meta-poetic Mad Hatter鈥檚 tea party: appealing equally to the adult and child sides of the mind. 鈥楬is biddy, his鈥攈ere / comes a dream鈥.鈥欌濃擬ary Jo Bang, author of Louise in Love
鈥溾榃e live in the mind. . . [and] if we live in the mind, we live with the imagination,鈥 says Stevens, naturally. Time spent with Dainis Hazners鈥 imaginary friend Mr. C goes beyond life-affirmation. This interior epic is so sonically鈥斺榟is song is like a forge / at full fire鈥欌攁nd conceptually animate that I feel augmented, awakened to a living that is simultaneously 鈥榤any-shaded white鈥 and 鈥攕prung with darkness.鈥欌濃擝en Doyle, author of Radio, Radio