Reviewed by Sheri Graves.
Christian Lane is a fine writer, a talented poet and an entertaining performance artist kind of like the morning-after remnants of yesteryear’s Beat Poetry folks. His latest book, #Much Better #Thanks for Asking, was published earlier this year and draws on a previous unofficial, handmade chapbook he wrote in 2000 called, I Stand Corrected.
Reading Christian Lane’s work is a journey down the rabbit hole of his colorful mind. But his true, raw, naked musings are much better appreciated when his shadow-self crawls into a microphone while he delivers his poetry as performance. This he does frequently in various venues.
#Much Better #Thanks for Asking is a book of poetry best read aloud, even when alone. The verse lends itself to the sounds of words as well as to their meanings. Don’t expect correct punctuation, proper sentences or standard structure. There are those who might call these works “slam poetry.” There are those who might call these poems a psychic or even psychedelic revelation. This author is a rebel, not in the political or social sense, but more akin to post-tweaking stream-of-consciousness, and sometimes with astonishing depth. There are delightful twists, dark passages and moments of stunning intellectual whimsy.
The reader of Lane’s book should have a healthy sense of humor, a skewed view of almost everything, and a keen appreciation for introspection. Anyone meeting those standards is likely to salivate over #Much Better #Thanks for Asking with the eager anticipation of a wine critic opening an exquisite bottle of Sonoma County pinot noir.
Reviewer Sheri Graves, author of Deep Doo-Doo, won the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award for Crime Fiction. Sheri has been writing for publications more than five decades. Her 40+ years with The (Santa Rosa, California) Press Democrat included 29+ as a reporter and 14 as a copy editor. As a reporter, Sheri won numerous awards for journalism and writing excellence, including first place prizes from the Press Club of San Francisco, the California and National Newspaper Publishers Associations, and California Medical Association. Sheri is also an editor and memoir writing instructor.
