Salt water, Raphael d'Abdon : review
As the title suggests, Raphael d'Abdon's poems are made of elemental substances and essential aspects of life. They speak in a direct, but profound, way. Many of these poems are stories, uncluttered narratives peopled with idiosyncratic characters that often break a sense of stereotype or cliche. The poems have a variety of tones, from meditative to satirical to highly engaged commentary on society. D'Abdon talks about and tells stories from the everyday, and has a narrative voice with an often highly ironic, but humane, take on life, politics and society.