The Proletariat Press, 2008
43 pages; 24 poems
$6.00

Review by Neil Hirsh

It's a Tuesday night in New York City and I've just finished The Meter Is Running & We're Almost Out Of Change. It's strange, but I know I've as just read a 43 page confessional and I feel guilty.

It was about one year ago when I first read Osel's work. I was reading a small magazine called The Orange Room Review when I stumbled on a short poem entitled The Genius of the American Man. I followed up and found more of Osel's work but was unable to find anything else as accomplished as that first poem. After that I all but forgot about Ananda until The Proletariat Press sent me his latest chapbook and requested a review. I am pleased to say that the feeling I had after reading that first poem in the Orange Room Review has returned.

The Meter is Running is Osel's self dedicated second book of poetry and well worth the time it takes to read. The Meter is aptly named after Osel's first-person narrative poem about the-beginning-of-the-end of an intense and troubled relationship. It's this poem that sets the tone and style for the rest of the book.

Unlike a year ago A.S. Osel seems to have his scathingly vague style firmly locked in place. It seems that he's found a formula that works and is sticking to it. His poetry, for the most part, is composed of two main stylistic components.

The first thing you notice when you read Osel is the offhand way he constructs his narratives. Most of his poems are told in first-person fashion but Osel is not above switching tenses, voices, and perspectives within a poem and they read all the better for that reason. He'll often move away from the main narrative and begin writing directly to the reader, often to depart some kind of advice only to move back into the narrative in the last stanzas. I have to reluctantly admit that this technique drew me in easily because it gave me a sense of personal interaction with the material. A good example of this switch occurs at the end of the book's title poem:

that's why it's best
to disregard
what you feel
and
what you think
and just do what you want,
follow your primal urges
and let the rest
take care of
the rest
she moved her hand down
and turned away
and i walked back
downstairs
to find something
stiff to drink
while i waited
on what was coming

The second seal of Ananda's poetry is the way it which he chooses to end his poems. Osel's no-nonsense writing style can sometimes be harsh, always intriguing, and never short on opinion. However, the ends of his poems are conspicuously melancholy and dispassionate, frequently communicating feelings of uncertainty and despair. When I first began to read The Meter Is Running I was thrown off by the abrupt swap in voice at the end of most of the poems but after awhile I found myself thinking out loud: "I wonder how he's going to end this poem." An illustration of this technique is evident in the following poem from The Meter entitled: Having a Good Time with Mexicans.

currently my neighbor is building
an extension to his home
it's a monstrosity
and it's very loud
during the day
his creation blocks nearly all
natural light that once
flooded through
my windows
his inspiration for his home is
unclear
it's a monstrosity
and it's very loud
during the day
there are many Mexicans
at work over there
all of the time
they often play the music
from their homeland
they enjoy it and express this
by yelling out loud and
making strange sounds
with their tongues
and i enjoy that
they work hard
too hard
leaving
after a long day
hunched over
dripping with sweat
and covered in dust
only to be back
when the sun rises again
when they arrive in the morning
i'll still be asleep
dreaming of my
sociology instructor
dancing for me in the nude
my neighbors inspiration for his creation is
unclear
i wonder if the Mexicans see it the
same way i do
or if they only see it
as a pay check
i'll wake up around
ten o'clock tomorrow
with an erection
and i'll have a
slow and easy
breakfast
while listening to
the music
that exists over
the fence
i'll probably feel like having
biscuits and gravy
or maybe
steak and eggs
it this point it's
anybody's guess

There is no doubt that Osel is a talented poet and storyteller. However, Osel's book is not without its faults. Some of the material misses the mark because it is, at times, too ruthless. In the poem Only the Truth Osel recounts a sexual excursion with a minor, which I found to be excessively callous and inappropriately descriptive. It's this kind of vulgarity that works against Osel; he seems to find no topic off limits and can be enormously offensive because of his nihilistic perspective.

Overall though, Osel's book is bursting with sarcastically humorous observations and situations that should leave any reader with, at the least, something to think about. For those familiar with Ananda's work you'll be pleased as he continues to write about familiar topics including the state of humanity, sex, relationships, the stupidity general population, and of course himself. As for those of you who've never read Osel you can be sure that The Meter Is Running & We're Almost Out Of Change will either hook you or repulse you. On that note it's worthwhile to warn potential readers that Osel's book is not for everyone, especially the faint at heart. It explores sensitive issues with broad strokes and is not short on offensive language, adult situations, and not so subtle innuendo.

That said, I suggest you pick up Osel's book and be introduced to one of the small press' most promising and controversial artists.


A.S. Osel's book The Meter Is Running & We're Almost Out Of Change can be purchased from The Proletariat Press on their website at: www.proletariatpress.org. Some of Ananda's work can also be accessed online at: www.ananda-osel.com



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