Book Review: "Isaiahs in the Void" by Kendall Defoe

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Have you ever wanted to read a book by your favourite creators on Vocal? Well, I have. I actually wish some of my favourite creators would write books so that I could read them. I was in luck when Kendall Defoe published his book (you should get it) and definitely supports my claim that there is nothing else I could give it but 5/5. Full marks. Brilliant. Awesome. In these hot spring days, one thing I can say I need more of in my life is poetry and who better to go to than one of my favourite poets on this entire site (and possibly anywhere if I really think about it), than Kendall Defoe? I'm so glad I read this.

I'll discuss some of my favourite poems but I have to admit, it was very hard to choose my favourites. I'm not going to say too much because I don't want to give too much away. But take it from me: he's a great poet.

Revised Edition

I love the extended metaphor that flows through this text. There's a human form within being slowly put together. I love the way we have these separate sections of the poem and they tell us about various things the body can do. There's the gym, running and then, by the end we have a rhetorical question which leaves the conversation of 'revising' open. Of course, it is a promising way to start an anthology - leaving the reader something to think intensely about when it comes to being human.

Self

He's published this one on Vocal too and I recently found myself really into the phrasing. It's so clever how he uses so few words to express very complex ideas. The poem itself feels like it should be on wall art in someone's apartment, or (better yet, on a tattoo - god, I hope that wins the competition!). If you've read this one as well, then you will have to agree that it should be on a piece of artwork.

Why We Need Poets

Obviously I was going to enjoy this one with all of the literary references. It's structured in such a memorable way, it reminds me of reading the Romantic poets who often referred to other people in their poetry. I have to say the flow of this poem was definitely one of my favourites from throughout the anthology. I'd like to congratulate Kendall on writing something so satisfying to read.

User's Agreement

Is there any other more universal experience of being in society than the 'user's agreement'? Our poet really captures the essence of the fact that everything must be documented and certified by presenting us with a fragmented structure as if we are reading pages of information about things being documented and certified. Thankfully though, Kendall simply cuts to the chase and gives us the most essential parts of the experience. This poem is followed by one called 'Terms and Conditions' which is absolutely brilliant.

The Poet

I love a good narrative poem and this one is about a poet writing a poem but also, several other things. The poet becomes distracted by various things and other ideas in their head. For anyone who has ever written a poem, you will know the universal experience of trying to look for the right word for something for so long that you eventually just end up staring into space for five minutes and forget where you are entirely. The poet has a television on, has a mirror where they see themselves (I mean though, that is a great comment on poetry), there's pauses and moments of doubt and there's also a differing between the line length that really shows us the passing of time. This was perhaps one of my favourites in the anthology because of simply how clever and deep it is. I think I must have read it four times at least.

Conclusion

I haven't gone through every poem but you definitely should read all of them because they are all simply brilliant. I genuinely hope you choose to buy this anthology because not only are you supporting a fellow Vocal writer, but you're actually supporting someone who can write really great poems. I am very picky about my poetry and it's really rare that I come across a 21st century poet that I enjoy. I would say that as of so far, Kendall Defoe is probably in my top three favourites. (The other two are Simon Armitage and Maggie Nelson if you were wondering, but nobody is in any particular order because I actually haven't thought about it that hard).