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Man
Copyright © 19
by Keith Ratzlaff
P
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Man Under a Pear Tree is a litany of fused moments,
layered like the transparencies in an encyclopedia
to give us — if it's possible — new levels
of reality. Keith Ratzlaff shuffles his deck of cards so that
images float, fluid and intractable as time itself,
and ideas are caught in the process of formation.
Ratzlaff gives us context: the portrait widened to landscape in such
a way that the individual is not
lost, but seen in a new perspective, like the feet of the flying woman
whose body must be imagined beyond
the frame. Ratzlaff is most assuredly the Klee of words. We are alterable,
says this poet, but he is
enchanted by the magic of alteration, the illusion that reveals. I hold my
breath as Houdini is lowered
into the water, slowed breath becoming slower as cause and effect float in
an ever-present "now." The words
that come to mind are brilliant, breathtaking, death-defying, but I'll
settle for saying these poems feel as
real as talking to yourself. — Judith Kitchen
Man Under A Pear Tree is the sort of debut collection which we all
hope for, but which is sadly rare. — David Wojahn
Reading Keith Ratzlaff's poems is like watching Charlie Chaplin on a ten
speed bike or listening to Mozart in fast forward. — Robert Dana
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What the Critics Say
Bibliography
