Review by Gary Blankenship
Poetry editor, Writer's Hood ezine


too white to sing the blues
and too dead to give a damn

So Brett ends his title poem, but it is hardly true. His collection is blues and clearly gives a damn.

I read an incredible amount of poetry on the internet--in workshops, submissions and zines--and off. And I get more discriminating and more difficult to please with each. Brett surprised me in nearly every poem with little things (and it is really the little things that make a difference--a word like "monkeywrenchery", line like "freshman-feel-up-in-the-parking-lot boring," title like "Man Shoots Mayor over Fifteen Dollar Water Bill before Making Getaway on Riding Lawnmower," twist at the end as in "Terrorist Attack in Oklahoma City" or "Paradise Lost."

Brett takes us to the real places--factory floors, trailer parks, Wal-Mart, living rooms, roads and sidewalks. And there he finds real people--some desperate, some down, some looking for love or maybe only a one night stand; but he also finds people who cope, the good folk who make this country work.

In my view, his Ripples approaches the power of the Dixie Chicks' "Long Time Gone"--And then he dreams within the dream/that his wife puts Jesus/back on the shelf/with all her other toys.

Read Brett, you will not be disappointed.

        Gary Blankenship
        Poetry editor, Writer's Hood ezine    www.writershood.com/
         gardawg.homestead.com/gardawg.html



Review by C. E. Laine
www.Celaine.com


DEAD WHITE POET packs a punch at least equal to Bret Hursey's previous work, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. Both collections should be read by every aspiring poet. This mix of grit and imagery is what any poet wants to accomplish, and Mr. Hursey does it with aplomb. He writes with wit and insight, making us think a little harder than we would like to.

In "Aquaman," he explores dating roles in very imaginative terms. "Another Useless Poem about the Moon" gives us an interesting view of the human condition ("indifferent satellite | that orbits | a world aflood | with lonely bags of water"). Hursey breaks us down into our elemental components and gives us a thing or two to consider.

The image-laden "Hammocks" peeks into the life of a girl who is rebuilding herself. Here, Hursey shows a gentle, almost whimsical side as he describes her in terms of the weaving job she took on "until her hands | were strong enough | to make all her ends meet."

Hursey's disturbing portrait in "A Terrorist Attack in Oklahoma City" is one that will not fade. He leaves us with "down into the hard Oklahoma soil | where he buries their daughter, | making sure her fragile, half-finished | face is turned towards Mecca."

The words "you're too Caucasian to sing the blues" set the tone for the title poem, "Dead White Poet." Here, Hursey demonstrates his trademark style with lines such as "Your fierce, Celtic forefathers | would hike up their kilts | and spit in your eye | if they could see you sitting there, | watching spin cycles bleach | the color out of your khakis--" in this refreshingly witty poem.

"Dueling Hemispheres" is one of the most interesting poems I have read, detailing a man's conversation with himself, as he grapples with his options.

Yes… I expected good poetry from Mr. Hursey. I expected a jolt or two. I wanted my thought process challenged. I have not been disappointed.

        C. E. Laine
        Author of ALLEGORY and THE WEIGHT OF DUST
         www.Celaine.com

Reader's Review

As an aspiring poet myself...I found the sample chapter of your book to be hilarious...even the mock reviews had me rolling right out of my chair.

Keep up the good work. ...

Blackie Destra --member of Bill Westfall's WonderWorldOrg exclusive poets club
"WonderWorldOrg-CLIPS division"speciallizing in Christian Faith-based, Life-Inspired Poetry.
Editor's Review


Most of the poems in this collection use a single, extended metaphor to describe someone's state of mind. The style is accessible, almost conversational English, rich in visual imagery.

Many poems take a look askance at coupledom – people squirming a little in relationships they are a bit surprised, perhaps, to find themselves involved in. "Aquaman" introduces us to a new superhero, struggling to meet his Wonder Woman's expectations. "Animal Shelter" invites us inside a woman's skin, illuminates her attitudes about her lifestyle, and leaves us amused and rueful.

Others, more somber, call up images that stay in the mind long after: the carefully rewoven life in "Hammocks," the grief-filled family album in "Women Keep the Pictures." And some of these poems hold a hard, ironic rage that leaves you shaken. "Balkan Carnival" puts you in harm's way, kneeling in the street as shells explode and "children …warm their hands over the steaming corpse" of a slain horse. "Terrorist Attack in Oklahoma City" reveals afresh the anguish caused by tribal hatreds.

Mr. Hursey is not the "Dead White Poet", who is "too white to sing the blues and too dead to give a damn." He gives a damn, and he makes the reader give a damn too.

        Alice Tempel, Editor for Books Unbound

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