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A Raga for George Harrison
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These poems reveal a passionate concreteness of imagery and a rich allusiveness. All the poetic qualities that touch the human heart are here. Liveliness is the most characteristic quality of these poems that show intense emotion and vivid imagination.
A Raga for George Harrison by Sharmagne Leland-St. John 94 pages ~ 54 poems Price: $16.00 US plus shipping ISBN: 978-93-88125-90-1 Reviewed by Michael Escoubas For those who may be unfamiliar with a keyword in the title of poet Sharmagne Leland-St. John’s new collection, “Raga” refers to the many melodic patterns found in Indian music. Through a series of “swaras” (something like metric feet in poetry) the singer progresses up the musical scale then down. There are numerous raga variations which lend themselves to improvisational treatments of both instrumental and voice intonations. With this background sketch in hand, A Raga for George Harrison is a composition which ascends, lingers, extends and descends in a rich tonal interplay. This interplay is introduced early on with a focus on difference-makers in entertainment, social justice, literature, philosophy and more. Her subjects include: George Harrison of Beatles fame, Mimi Chesterton, Queen of “B” movies, singer Janis Joplin, writer Virginia Woolf, poets Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg. Here is an excerpt from the book’s keystone poem, A Raga for George Harrison, the setting is Reno, NV
To see the night sky in all its glory, and to hear George Harrison’s music lilt across this high desert plain is breathtaking. And to know glaciers were right here long ago. This was the very edge of them, for awhile. A strong connection is growing.
Sitar strings sing and reverberate in this desert night, his music still flowing. I would like to emphasize a particular phrase from the above excerpt, “A strong connection is growing.” Leland-St. John’s work is characterized by an unusually strong “connection” to things, places and people. She is emotionally connected; that is, she feels life at great depth; with Leland-St. John, nothing remains superficial for long. She is “invested,” to employ an oft-overused phrase. However, this investment never gets in the way of art. She is a professional who writes after reflecting for long periods on how her subjects have impacted her life. In Pearl’s Song, written for rock/blues singer Janis Joplin, who died tragically in 1970 at age 27, we see how the poet’s pathos marries art through couplet rhyme
I remember her in the studio that night Restless, and her voice was tight All in a knot Yet when she said goodbye who would have thought She’d never see the morning light But the sky was dark and the clouds were pale And she rode out on the midnight rail
They came to mourn They came to cry They came to wonder How someone like her Could ever die Stylistically, Leland-St. John is very much her own poet. What appeals to this reviewer is her skill at lineage. If we notice the line breaks in Pearl’s Song, we find them to be irregular, she is not counting syllables to comply with a predetermined format. However, the lines flow conversationally, without tightness or strain; very much like two people reminiscing over coffee. Leland-St. John writes with poignancy about poets Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. Each made contributions to literature which live on even though their personal lives ended tragically. Poet-activist Garcia Lorca is memorialized in Lorca. Through a career lasting only 19 years Lorca spoke out against the brutal regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. You won’t want to skip over this important tribute poem. There is more: Hector Pieterson was a 13-year old martyr against Apartide. Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, was a Native-American activist murdered in 1975. Here is part of the poet’s tender response Anna Mae you are water songs unsung teardrops in the river a mother a sister a daughter a loving wife slaughtered an activist a human sacrifice a slice of Indian life These “Raga” notes represent only one dimension of Leland-St. John’s poetic range. Her music rises and falls in surprising and entertaining ways. I Said Coffee, is sensuously suggestive; Things I’ll do now that he’s gone, reveals the heartbreak of lost love; Tiny Warrior, brings tears in the poet’s loss of her infant son, Nikolai, “Who never saw the spring.” In Seascape, we encounter the skillful employment of “personification” Sea I love the way you tremble Your waves will pound and crash upon the sand Her tangled auburn hair strand for strand Will mingle with the crystal tears Your emerald ocean sheds As is the case with many poets, memories comprise an inexhaustible source-pool for Leland-St. John’s work. On the Riverboat that Day, treats a feeling many readers share: realizing that a love relationship is declining. Lost love is recalled in All He’s Left Me. Love as play, delighted me in Ticonderoga Wind. I once reviewed a travelogue which amounted to a world tour of exotic places. A Raga for George Harrison, is a magic carpet to Cairo, Lima, London, Kashmir, Chicago, Hawaii, mountain climbing and Indian reservations; this is but a partial list. Leland-St. John carefully weaves settings, characters and subjects into poems that moved me emotionally and intellectually. If I were to choose one word to describe both the poet and A Raga for George Harrison, taken as a whole, that word would be “Love.” At bottom Leland-St. John is an artist who faces life in its dazzling array of complexities, disappointments, confusions and joys; emerging with both hands raised in triumph shouting, World I love you! Life I love you! I punctuate that assertion with Apple Blossoms, quoted here in full apple blossoms pink and pale tender blossoms sheer and frail on the wind they float and sail snowy blossoms bee’s delight perfumed flowers scent the night morning hours wrens take flight dainty flowers lovely sight Your reviewer has never been quite the same since reading A Raga for George Harrison, I’m bold to assert, neither will you.
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