Posthumous Poetry

Having been a longtime listener to This American Life I was somewhat familiar with David Rakoff’s writings but hadn’t really devoted much time to him outside the podcast. Our book club chose to read his posthumous work Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish to wrap up the year and it was an enjoyable read from an enjoyable man, who died far too early in life.

What none of us expected when tackling this short “novel” was that the entire thing would be in rhyming couplets. We get over hundreds of pages stories of just what the title promises – love, dishonor, marriage, and death. The stories cover many years in our history, and many types of characters. I think that this novel works because it’s so short. If we were talking about epic poems here I’d have been a little irritated at the misnomer on the cover (it says “A Novel”).  As it is, the book is just over 100 pages long and full of beautiful illustrations, so the poetry works here.

I’ve never been a huge poetry buff but I’ve always believed that poetry need not rhyme. I think I really  agree in this case; while I enjoyed the couplets, I often found myself lulled into the rhythm of saying them out loud and not really comprehending what I’d just read. I think that’s why I’ve never really gotten into poetry. I get so distracted by getting the rhythm right, I miss the whole point. I hope this won’t dissuade anyone from reading it. Rakoff’s last work really is worthwhile and you can read it while you’re gathered round the fire celebrating your Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstace/Whatever with your family.