Holy Moley! The Chapel of Inadvertant Joy sounds good so far!

I read McDaniel's "The Grudge" on Poetry Daily two weeks ago, and I loved it. Poetry Daily's website placed his latest book, The Chapel of Inadvertent Joy, only two clicks away, so I bought it. Thanks, University of Pittsburgh Press.

For me, a new book of poetry is like a new CD or album download. I flip through the whole, looking for things that catch my ear. I stop. I sample. I skip around some more until something else catches my ear. This can go on for hours or days.

Then, eventually, I settle down--and settle in--for a long swim from beginning to end. A swim? What can I say? Metaphors always draw me in--short similes to long conceits. I'm listening. That is, if the metaphors are novel or exciting--if they work.

McDaniel's metaphors work. From the six or so poems I've read so far, I can honestly say that they are exciting. They crack the world open and pull out new treasures--ideas to put between my teeth. Minerals, vegetables, flesh. Good stuff so far. And it's not all "dark" as some might say. Underlying this work, and sometimes in full bloom, is a delicious sense of humor. I'll post more about the book once I've read it from cover to cover.