Reading The Water (Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize)
In his introduction to this first volume, winner of the Samuel French Morse Prize, Edward Hirsch praises Webb's stand-up comic stance, but do poetry and mundane, superficial comedy really belong together? Webb, who is also a psychotherapist, takes a glib view of his fellow humans, creating a muse whose favorite comment is, "The main theme of modern life is the humiliation of the protagonist." In all but his most powerful, seemingly personal poems ("The Death of Santa Claus," "Blind"), he uses craft to replace content. "I was sunk in complacency/ with my good salary, good job, good girlfriend,/ writing good poems about nothing (or next to)." A very astute observation he unfortunately does not heed. Not recommended.?Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New YorkCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.