The Boston Globe

Books

Boston.com

BOOK REVIEWS

‘The Blue Tower’ by Tomaz Salamun and ‘Notes From Irrelevance’ by Anselm Berrigan

By Michael Brodeur

 |   

  November 27, 2011

Poetry and politics can be like friends you hate to see at the same party. Both are helpless flirts, strong personalities, languages of coercion. And while poetry strives for the very truth that politics seeks to smother, both dabble in obscurantism when it suits a bigger idea. It would be wrong to describe the new collections from prolific Slovenian poet Tomaz Salamun and Brooklyn favorite son Anselm Berrigan as political, but it would be difficult to imagine either being as vital a voice without their unique knacks for balancing the show of poetry with the tell of history.

Thank you for reading BostonGlobe.com. You have reached the monthly limit for free articles — to continue reading, get unlimited access to BostonGlobe.com now for just 99¢ for 8 weeks.

Unlimited access to BostonGlobe.com includes:

  • The FULL story all day: Enjoy all of the high-quality, in-depth journalism in the print edition of the Boston Globe — plus breaking news that's updated 24/7.
  • A truly reader-friendly format: It's online news that looks and reads just like the newspaper — uncluttered, uninterrupted.
  • Breakthrough technology: The responsive design automatically adapts content so it always reads perfectly on the digital device of your choice.
GET STARTED TODAY

Free access for home delivery subscribers.

Just need to link your home delivery account; one easy step.

Link my home delivery account

BostonGlobe.comSubscriber Log In

Contact us for help