Book Review: 13 Poets from Long Island

Reviewed by Nick Gardner

An eclectic collection filled with good humor and the fears of this moment

13 Poets from Long Island is the fourth poetry anthology comprised of the works of the students of former Nassau County Poet Laureate Evelyn Kandel’s Writing Poetry class. Rather than many anthologies composed around a theme or unified style, Kandel’s cluster of poets write on a wide array of topics, from frustrated ballads on corrupt governments to singsong rhymes eliciting sheer enjoyment. Thirteen poets with few publishing credits to their names fill the pages of this book with personal pieces cobbled together from their long experience on this earth to contemplate the pandemic, politics, poverty, and wealth among other things. These mostly humble poems offer insight into several different worlds.

The book begins with a note from Evelyn Kandel, introducing some of the poets that will fill the following pages. She mentions Victoria Bjorkland, a lawyer, and her husband Hank, also a lawyer and a former pro football player for the New York Jets. The writers reveal themselves through bios such as John Lange, a self-proclaimed “professional philosopher” who “debated whether to become an Assyrologist.” And then proceed to introduce their deeper thoughts and philosophies of the world through their poetry, such as Lange’s “Litany in Praise of Ideology” in which he addresses ideology itself through a wide array of metaphors such as: “You are a sugar coated tablet of social cyanide” or “…a perfume masking the scent of greed.” Both eloquent and adept at metaphors, Lange’s focus is on philosophy while Hank Bjorkland pens “Dear Fear,” a break-up letter with fear itself, and his emotional love letter with the Blues, “Ode to Blues.” Following these living poets, an addendum at the back of the book prints poems from two class members who have passed away. Jack B. Weinstein challenges the violence of bombs and war in “Do We Need to Kill?” and Aaron Reisfeld relives his “lifelong trauma” in “Peregrinations.”

Even though this anthology is made up of a variety of poets with different backgrounds, careers, and voices, certain themes stand out. Meditations on war echo throughout many of the poems from John A. Valenti the 3rd’s, “Get the Picture,” a reflection on his childhood obsession with warplanes and the conditioning one experiences throughout life that leads them to think it would be alright to kill; to Gladys Thompson Roth’s “Lest We Forget” in which the speaker considers her dead husband’s uniform and misses him. 

The pandemic also rises to the surface for many of these poets. George Pafitis addresses the massive social shift directly, speaking of the sound of a respirator as “COVID fear,” and Victoria Bjorklund’s “Zoom Attacks” peruses the work-from-home culture that has become so prevalent during the pandemic years. Surprisingly enough, penguins make an appearance in at least three different poems, one of many funny connections between such disparate minds. 

As a collection without a unifying theme that features the voices of mostly retired Long Islanders, 13 Poets from Long Island acts as a cohesive physical object that both celebrates Evelyn Kandel’s guidance as an instructor and each poet’s individuality. From sing-songy end-stop rhymes to freeform ruminations and even “An Old-Timer’s Rap” from Hattie Abbey, this anthology offers variety, playfulness, deep thoughts, and no small amount of joy. 

---

Thank you for reading Nick Rees Gardner’s book review of 13 Poets from Long Island edited by Evelyn Kandel! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.