I have a large collection of American poetry books, most of which are from the 1970s and 80s, and most of which are truly awful. Here’s my criteria for buying poetry books:
- Must be cheap
- Must have something visually interesting
- Signed by the author is good, but signed by the author with a fawning personal note to best friend (who then turned around and sold it to Myopic Books for 25 cents) is even better
- Period typography is a plus
Notice that quality of poems plays no role in purchase. That’s because most American poetry is awful. I’ve decided after all these years of collecting to actually read some of the books, and I’ve got some insights. So here’s the first of a new series of takes on these books?:
Viva Laguna is a great example of a totally worthwhile Civic Cheerleader Poetry. It’s just good that it exists– captures tons of nice details about 1950s Laguna Beach, CA. Includes some nifty images, and sings the town crier song about local characters and businesses. It’s not setting the literary world on fire, but it is what it is. He’s got a nice forward to the book that basically says the same thing.
All hail "Viva Laguna, Word Pictures by Laguna’s Poet Laureate, Terry Travis, Souvenir Volume". It’s currently going for $83 over at ABE Books. No idea why.