In his fine fourth collection,
Reassure the Phoenix, John Muth gives us an indelible portrait of his late, beloved if at times acid-tongued mother and casts a semi-gimlet eye on the world of dating and relationships, both fraught with disappointments and wrong turns. But Muth does find happiness and stability, if not of the unrealistic ideal in romance novels. This is our contemporary world, after all, ruled by irony and our tenuous grip on happy-ever-after. Muth’s self-assessment that he was “a strange and lonely boy/who liked books more than people” is one of the many, many perceptive and poignant turns of phrase that make this collection jump off the page, and make us hope Muth has at last found a lifelong mate. We wish them well and hope that his grief for his mother will pass with time. Robert Cooperman, winner of the Colorado Book Award for Poetry
Dating and death, love and cancer, Star Wars toys and Egyptology. These are some of the themes in this poetry collection. John David Muth writes with fondness of childhood. He finds confusion in modern dating. Fantasy is found with every oil change or shopping encounter. Past lovers drift through the landscape. He avoids commitment but finds love anyway. The poet’s mother stands large, the female figure that suitors must contend with, and never can replace. The aging process is in the background, the race against time to be what the poet needs to be, and fulfill the expectations of others. Death is there, ahead, around the corner, in the next room, eating at parents, waiting for the next generation. The poet must navigate his course through all of this, seeking his rise from the ashes. Enjoy the journey.
Joseph Farley
The poems in John David Muth’s latest book, Reassure the Phoenix, explore relationships. Rendered in a conversational tone, it’s as though he’s alongside you in a diner, chatting away—always a pleasure. He writes about beginnings—descriptions of life after his intended and her Saint Bernard move in are deliciously funny—you laugh out loud. “Grocery shopping…/ She tells me we need to find organic kumquats.” He writes of endings—accounts of losing his mother are heartfelt and poignant. “I saw her breathing even after she stopped.” His clever comparisons remain with you. “I became a burglar / caught trying to rob a store / on discount day / for law enforcement officers.” You notice his inspired verbs. “The clock crawls past midnight/sprints to 2:00 a.m.” Bravo to this delectable collection and to the singular voice of John Muth.
Wanda S. Praisner, recipient of the 2017 New Jersey Poets Prize and author of To Illuminate the Way
