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Angel Uriel Perales? Long-Poetry and Lyrical Prose |
One of the most commonly known techniques of successful writers is focus on subjects they know personally. In Angel Uriel Perales’ new collection, Long-Poetry and Lyrical Prose, this writing method proves effective in creating not just a clear idea of the calibur of writer Perales is, but also creating a realistic aspect of the themes explored.
In Long, Perales adorns his work in superlative wording. Poetic themes are the ingredients that supply credence of quality. Even as many take place in simple settings such as the author’s home or the neighborhoods lived in his lifetime, these themes create a sense of humanity not found in more abstract work. In turn, the reader is able to connect emotionally on a practical level.
Perales collection does manage to explore more general themes that serve as explorations of social issues as well. Such is the case in the piece titled, "The Lesson of Paper Boats":
“Delay,
delay the rains
because the pouring rains
delay the inevitability,
slow down the wound-up
circumference
of crusted lemon custard,
obey a certain
natural curiosity of
born again paths and rising
rivulets created by
the dance macabre-
an opportune experiment
of a young boy following
fresh clear water streams
flowing down
Puerto Rican gutters,
a gift of the delay stemming
from Puerto Rican pouring
rains.
I had my paper ships ready
for the meaningful race.
I launched my infantile
origami boats
into the imagined ocean battle
and the white one always won,
rainwater streaking down my face,
darting between parked cars,
braving lightning,
pneumonia,
pre-hurricane conditions,
the white one always won,
before knowledge of
paper weights and
the weight of paper
fell into perspective,
before cultural education
of any kind was acquired,
just an ambient conviction
on a distant Caribbean island
that a thing of color
should matter,
no matter how the creation,
a yellow legal pad
perhaps orange,
blue, green, or red
construction paper,
no matter
how the creation,
the white one
always
won,
ripped out of my
composition school
notebook
with space for
subject
and class,
made in Taiwan,
the white ship always won,
a dreaded augural
realization
confirmed by swift
castigation laden from
a frustrated mother
exasperated by the non-compliance
of a stubborn only son
who insists on playing
with his pre-built paper boats
in the pouring rain,
a peculiarity dismissed as the
eccentricities of a precocious
and lonely child.”
Perales' Puerto Rican heritage is integrated in his work, but does not ever become the focal point in the collection - even if it’s clear that some pieces would be unable to exist without the involvement of his heritage. What Perales does in Long, instead, is to subtly use such heritage create a visual shade his pieces. It is this process of using his heritage that every piece becomes interconnected. It creates a singular voice. That is to say, the collection has one personality that prevents the user from gtting lost in the book.
Even as Perales moves on in his collection and explores the surroundings of his adult life ("The Dreamers," "Echo Park"), he manages to infuse the descriptions of his perceptions and commentary to sustain an objective sense that is often achieved in the possession of a different heritage.
If there is any weakness to this collection, it may be many of the works live up to the title of the collection. This may be a drawback for some readers. Heavy use of metaphor may be found distracting even if such use is perfectly purposeful. The explorations contained herein draw a varied amount of situations and many of these works do have coherence beyond the metaphors and verbosity viewed in retrospect.
It’s a matter of perspective and expectation. But in this day and age, when instant gratification and short attention spans seem to be attributes of personality that are more commonplace, it is a risk that many of these works can run into despite their quality. Nevertheless, many of the pieces in Long are drawn out ruminations that take the reader through a toboggan of distinctive imagery.
To engage in such lyrical journey it’s up to the reader.
Long-Poetry and Lyrical Prose, July 2005 Rumrazor Press, ISBN 0-9724134-0-5
copyright 2005
Francisco
Dominguez |
