Unreconstructed -- Ed Ochester

The hook into Ed Ochester's poetry is universality. Each poem -- even one's packed with metaphor such as "On a Friend Whose Work Has come to Nothing" -- reads on many levels. The plot, the why, behind each poem resonates with me. Ochester's poetry isn't didactic or about lofty ideals. Instead it is the truth -- both the beautiful and the ugly -- hidden in the moments of the everyday. The subjects and personas aren't archetypes. No. They are the everyperson, the nextdoor neighbor, the friend lost in passing. His poetry's greatest strength is in the connection it makes with its reader.

For instance, in "On a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing" Ochester explores the relationship of friendship, writing work, snippets of an individual life, and reflection -- inner-reflection -- after a long lost friend/collegue's death. Lines like, "and every one of us was the true illegitimate/son of Hemmingway who/by the way/was your very close friend" indicate emotions behidn a persona's words, represent the descent into grief, remembrance, and self-discovery. Although the example is literary, the moment after a friend's death, the feelings of closeness and a look of one's life work, is universal, even if it stays sealed on a person's inside.

His poetry resonates on history and a connection with the middle class. Almost anyone can pick up and pull something out of the words he puts on a page. Fresh language and the momentum push a reader through to the end. Ed Ochester is a universal voice for the people.