Last Stop To Saskatoon by Tony Nesca
Published by Screaming Skull Press in Canada in December 2017.
Featured in Cover Characteristics: Railways
How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the author
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Where to buy this book:
Directly from Screaming Skull Press
One Book. One epic poem. An unadulterated, uncensored, stream-of-consciousness protest against the state of the world.
I've been very lucky with my take-a-chance-on-it poetry collections this month. Giant, Heirloom and now Last Stop To Saskatoon have all been amazing! Each work is very different poetically, but I loved exploring them. Last Stop To Saskatoon contains two poems. A Protest Song is the first epic poem I think I have read in many years so I wasn't sure how such a long poem would work for me. I needn't have worried! Tony Nesca swept me up in the first few lines and the energy in his words kept me reading straight through to the end. Twice!
love-sick smiles
and bloody afternoons under the hipster violence
and skinless thigh-high leather let-downs
with bust-up memories that coagulate your mind
This is a great poem to stand up and read aloud. If it's not already a performance piece, it certainly should be! It's angry themes spoke clearly to me as, even though Canada is referenced, the issues Nesca addresses are universal. I could just as easily envisage decaying British towns and fragmented communities, media-driven hate bandwagons and that orange monster! The nostalgia for a time of 'protest songs in the key of E' is cleverly evoked alongside a desperate present-day fury. I heard echoes of Dylan and Kerouac, both of whose writing I love, and a strong underground indie vibe that keeps this work vividly alive. Love it!
Search Lit Flits for more:
Books by Tony Nesca / Poetry / Books from Canada