Book Recommendation: Obama Rising
(Disclaimer: The author is a close and long-time friend. I happen to think, however, that he has a lot to say and is well-worth reading and enjoying! My review and recommendation is done with full honesty about how I feel about the book.)
Obama Rising:
Real-time Reflections from
the Heart of a Poet
Personal reflections, political commentary and poetry at a critical intersection of history happening in the opening days of Obama rising down to earth, timely, insightful and quirky all in realtime from the heart of a poet.
Author Larry Christianson decided back in November that he wanted to reflect on the historic transition from Election Day to the Inauguration of Barack Obama as our first African-American president. As a poet, Larry has that special gift of taking the daily events and boiling them down into concise language that evokes feelings and reactions behind the events. But instead of just writing a series of poems he went deeper and wrote essays, reflections and commentaries on the events.
The book then is more than either a political treatise on the cultural shift or a poetic response to those two and a half months. It has become a point-counterpoint as Larry uses his skills to give us a sense of the roller coaster ride of those days. In looking back over those not so distant days it is amazing how much we forget- or maybe didn't even notice. Hence the poet will reflect on the fact that a donut costs more than the morning paper that is going into Chapter 11, the Nixonian undertones of Illinois governor Blagojevic's attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat, or the mundane problem of the new President keeping his Blackberry.
Larry reflects on the hope that Obama campaigned on- and the hope he embodies as he enters the White House. Larry also sees the problems and obstacles that Obama will have to face. He ties in his personal experiences and history of political involvement. He allows himself to push the edge a little, but never to a breaking point. The highest praise for any essayist or poet is that he makes you think. No, not by giving answers, but by allowing the words to become a path for you to find the answers for you.
In the end the book works on more levels than one might think thanks to Larry's skill as a writer. Poets do not themselves necessarily make successful politicians. They feel too deeply. But poetry about politics can open new possibilities and understandings and offer links we didn't see at first. This is not just another book on politics or Obama. This is personal and hopeful and filled with the excitement of the transition. I am glad that Larry managed to get it on paper. Too soon the glow will fade and the old politics as usual will work its destructiveness. This book should be kept and taken off the shelf on a regular basis so that we do not forget.
As Larry wrote at the start of the poem that he placed at the Inauguration.
Poetry.
Lying in wait -
hidden within kernels
of truth.
Such is the promise fulfilled in this excellent book.
(Use the link on the right sidebar to order the book from Amazon.)
The book then is more than either a political treatise on the cultural shift or a poetic response to those two and a half months. It has become a point-counterpoint as Larry uses his skills to give us a sense of the roller coaster ride of those days. In looking back over those not so distant days it is amazing how much we forget- or maybe didn't even notice. Hence the poet will reflect on the fact that a donut costs more than the morning paper that is going into Chapter 11, the Nixonian undertones of Illinois governor Blagojevic's attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat, or the mundane problem of the new President keeping his Blackberry.
Larry reflects on the hope that Obama campaigned on- and the hope he embodies as he enters the White House. Larry also sees the problems and obstacles that Obama will have to face. He ties in his personal experiences and history of political involvement. He allows himself to push the edge a little, but never to a breaking point. The highest praise for any essayist or poet is that he makes you think. No, not by giving answers, but by allowing the words to become a path for you to find the answers for you.
In the end the book works on more levels than one might think thanks to Larry's skill as a writer. Poets do not themselves necessarily make successful politicians. They feel too deeply. But poetry about politics can open new possibilities and understandings and offer links we didn't see at first. This is not just another book on politics or Obama. This is personal and hopeful and filled with the excitement of the transition. I am glad that Larry managed to get it on paper. Too soon the glow will fade and the old politics as usual will work its destructiveness. This book should be kept and taken off the shelf on a regular basis so that we do not forget.
As Larry wrote at the start of the poem that he placed at the Inauguration.
Poetry.
Lying in wait -
hidden within kernels
of truth.
Such is the promise fulfilled in this excellent book.
(Use the link on the right sidebar to order the book from Amazon.)
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