The first poem and the title, Odysseus in Absaroka, may deceive you into thinking this is a travelogue. It is, in one sense. But the masterfully understated humor and keen eye of John Muth takes you in another direction. This book requires a comfortable chair, long afternoon, and a companion. Who would not want to share Spike Implants as Deadly Weapons and its wild imaginations of piercing problems at airport security? Could he really have overheard “women are like Matryoshka Dolls / the more layers he pops off / the less interesting and unique they become ” He has lines that make you want to touch:“[her] hastily pinned hair unravels / reveals a light brown industrial fire / raging through a hurricane.” Muth decorates observations with much to smile about, during the endlessly late air trip and hike in Wyoming. Odysseus in Absaroka offers many moments to enjoy, in this poet’s deceptively easy writing style.
Lavinia Kumar, The Celtic Fisherman’s Wife: A Druid Life
John David Muth’s third book of poems is a wry saga of travel and exploration, both of an extreme Wyoming mountain terrain, and of the poet’s perceptions of people and situations he encounters along the way. Starting in the travel agency where the sexy assistant challenges Muth to take a hiking vacation instead of his planned “nice quiet place / away from my students/and the gridlock hell of Central New Jersey,” the first poems describe that other hell: air travel. Muth’s ear for linguistic detail mocks the menu that offers a “hand-crafted …sandwich” wondering if “it was possible / to make a sandwich without hands.” In Wyoming the poet embarks on days of strenuous hiking that open New Jersey-clogged lungs and an inner eye that reflects on the harsh landscape with a startling long view: “Absaroka saw disasters: / drought, conflagration, extinction, / long before humans crossed the Bering ice.” He learns from it a “stoic patience.”
Elizabeth Danson, The Luxury of Obstacles
John Muth’s new collection is an amusing narrative odyssey chronicling his flight from New Jersey to Wyoming for a mountain-hiking vacation. Apparently no stranger to human foibles, Muth relates his journey with vivid images, clever metaphor, and a healthy dash of satire and farce. What starts out sounding like a “vacation from hell” ends up being, like this book, well worth the trip.
Bruce W. Niedt, Hits and Sacrifices and Twenty-four by Fourteen
John David Muth is a lifelong resident of central New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University and joined the staff as an academic advisor shortly after graduating. When not working or writing, he enjoys hiking, horseback riding, volunteering for environmental causes, and traveling. Much of his poetry satirizes romantic relationships, modern culture, technology, and higher education. He is a member of the U.S. 1 Poet's Cooperative. His work has appeared in such journals as Anti-Heroin Chic, Verse-Virtual, San Pedro River Review, and U.S. 1 Worksheets. He is the author of two collections of poetry: A Love for Lavender Dragons (Aldrich Press, 2016) and Inevitable Carbon (Aldrich Press, 2017).
