A Gringo Like Me

A Gringo Like Me Jennifer L. Knox 79pp.

Jennifer L. Knox’s first book of poetry, A Gringo Like Me is a hot, hot, hot-ass book. As I went through this collection it immediately became clear to me the humor and surrealism which so entranced me in The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway has been a part of Knox’s writing from the beginning. Knox will throw you for a loop sometimes, her poetry is always shocking, even after reading it several times, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better poet writing today.

The poetry in A Gringo Like Me is surprising, not just in imagery, but in tone and language. Knox has no interest for the lofty mountain peaks and brightly colored flower blossoms. Hers is a world of chicken buckets and battery operated Shih Tzus. But when Knox turns her poetic eye to these visions, the language she plays with is breathtaking. This breathtaking skill with language isn’t all that Knox has to bring to the table-Knox’s poetry is bursting with little lines that underscore a joking sexual tension.

“Plus, they’re the only race/ able to sex baby chickens.”

Much like The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway, Knox works through multiple modes of poetry in this collection. Most notable among her deviations from her usual form of verse are the short scripts. The absurdist plays shout out Knox’s trademark humor to perfection. These plays further some of the deconstructive work Knox is doing with her poems, taking apart the notion of a play and subjecting an imaginary audience to watching these productions. This shifting of focus was possibly my favorite aspect of the book. At first, I read the plays simply as scripts themselves, giving a little thought what a production might look like. On returning to them, I began to envision how an audience would react to seeing these plays performed. That shift of focus, that surprising image, that immediate placement in the experience of another human being, that is poetry and was the high point of A Gringo Like Me.

A Gringo Like Me is a very good book of poetry, Knox’s work has been one of the high points for me in doing these reviews. Her verse is well-done, clearly the product of a talented writer. If I were trying to introduce someone to contemporary poetry, Knox’s work, and especially A Gringo Like Me is one of the first places I would turn.

Would I recommend A Gringo Like Me? Yes.

Score: 4.3/5

Would I keep this on my bookshelf? Yes.

-Mr. Cheddar