Blinking with Fists: Poems
The frontman and lyricist for the Smashing Pumpkins—whose alternative-rock hits soared through millions of radios in the mid-1990s—enters the arena of the written word with this passionate, if rarely subtle, debut. Corgan has also worked in Chicago-area theater and in spoken-word performance, and his free verse often shows the directness associated with those venues, as well as the oddities fans of his lyrics will know: "The way/ You look/ At me/ Makes me/ Lonely/ Grinding tears/ Behind a mask/ Made of/ Abalone," begins "The Sun of Flowers." Hope, dreams and erotic excitement are frequent themes, while nautical or seaside settings predominate: "the most eternal sun-drenched kiss," Corgan exclaims, "is locked in my mind as something I won’t miss/ Or even try to remember." Other work may resonate with fans, yet strike even them as vague, even amateurish: "Whatever was needed will find its way home/ Delivered with riches and prayers full of soul." The title, with its intimations of a frustrated child, may be the best thing about this collection, and its most appropriate introduction.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.