REVIEWS: A Poet to Learn From
Don Kingfisher Campbell’s poetry never fails to surprise its readers with unusual language and images. Get ready to be stunned by twenty-six fresh poems from his latest chapbook “Play House.”
One thing I admire about Don is he brings out the unexpected in the ordinary—a browned banana, a stuffed alien, a little girl in the supermarket, etc. He gives his readers microscopic glimpses into what he experiences by resorting to the concrete and literal instead of clichéd metaphors. Love is not expressed by the moon and the stars but a “paisley comforter” and “cleanly cased pillows.” That’s what you will see in his opening poem “Play House.” Don is daring in his choices of subjects, not avoiding but confronting the controversial and uncomfortable. You will see that in the second poem in this dynamic collection. Don’s poetry is unpretentious but effective. He has a vast vocabulary which enables him to give everything he describes proper names and details. He is definitely a master of modern poetry. ~ Jackie Chou
What happens if you are a nationally published poet as well as a poetry publisher and teacher and you enter the DKC Play House and your website date asks you, “What is your profession?” As you tour this funky Play House and come to poem 26, “The Year of Being Single", you can readily see the true course of love runs no more smoother in our digital times than it did in Shakespeare’s age. But fret not. If Romeo had lived with modern plumbing, he may well have expressed his love for Juliet in similar words as in the tenth poem, “I’m going to take a shower now.” But be careful, Juliet, if you’re carnivorous. In “Animals” DKC sees “you spoon the dead into your mouth.” Kingfisher has also a few cosmic poems I like. I found out for example in “Analogy Planets” that Mercury is “just another pockmarked rock.” Many may take exception to argument in poem 31, “God,” saying the reason God “created matter and anti-matter” was "to fill the void in his life” but I find it most plausible. I enjoyed my visit to the DKC Play House and believe you will also.-- Carl Stilwell aka CaLokie
Don Kingfisher Campbell’s poetry never fails to surprise its readers with unusual language and images. Get ready to be stunned by twenty-six fresh poems from his latest chapbook “Play House.”
One thing I admire about Don is he brings out the unexpected in the ordinary—a browned banana, a stuffed alien, a little girl in the supermarket, etc. He gives his readers microscopic glimpses into what he experiences by resorting to the concrete and literal instead of clichéd metaphors. Love is not expressed by the moon and the stars but a “paisley comforter” and “cleanly cased pillows.” That’s what you will see in his opening poem “Play House.” Don is daring in his choices of subjects, not avoiding but confronting the controversial and uncomfortable. You will see that in the second poem in this dynamic collection. Don’s poetry is unpretentious but effective. He has a vast vocabulary which enables him to give everything he describes proper names and details. He is definitely a master of modern poetry. ~ Jackie Chou
What happens if you are a nationally published poet as well as a poetry publisher and teacher and you enter the DKC Play House and your website date asks you, “What is your profession?” As you tour this funky Play House and come to poem 26, “The Year of Being Single", you can readily see the true course of love runs no more smoother in our digital times than it did in Shakespeare’s age. But fret not. If Romeo had lived with modern plumbing, he may well have expressed his love for Juliet in similar words as in the tenth poem, “I’m going to take a shower now.” But be careful, Juliet, if you’re carnivorous. In “Animals” DKC sees “you spoon the dead into your mouth.” Kingfisher has also a few cosmic poems I like. I found out for example in “Analogy Planets” that Mercury is “just another pockmarked rock.” Many may take exception to argument in poem 31, “God,” saying the reason God “created matter and anti-matter” was "to fill the void in his life” but I find it most plausible. I enjoyed my visit to the DKC Play House and believe you will also.-- Carl Stilwell aka CaLokie
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