The Zombie-Slayer School of Poetry

tor-johnson

The internet wants to turn us into zombies.

I behold the transformation, as one by one my fellow commuters whip out their smartphones–the eyes go dead, the jaw goes slack, drool glistening at the corners of the mouth. They are reading, yes, but what are they reading? A mish-mash of “messaging” designed to provoke consumer behaviour.

Like a zombie, the internet wants to consume your brain. It’s how zombies spread. But poetry wants the opposite–it wants to give, not take. It wants to give you back your brains.

In a new review for Huffington Post, I take a close look at two poets who are taking on the zombie-like drone of mass media with their own fresh language. Equally adroit in high and low registers–as comfortable undoing the undead with a high-powered rifle as with a cricket bat–these two associate as freely as search engine results, tackling big questions with humour, pathos, and self-conscious aplomb.

This poetry will give you back your brains–and perhaps even a bit of your heart.