The Scrapper Poet

After being on backorder forever (okay, not forever, a few weeks — it seemed like forever), my copy of January Gill O’Neil’s collection, Underlife, came in the mail today.  I admit it — I’ve only read one poem so far, the opening poem titled “Nothing Fancy” where the narrator states, “I am from hush puppies & barbecue/from chitlins & fatbacks/hog maws & hog jaws & grits & scrapple.”  But, the voice is so, so,  real.  This poem reminds me of the poem, “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon, another personal favorite, and a work that I often read out loud to many of my creative writing classes.  Bloggers have been out and about talking about Underlife since Christmas, so I know that I’m going to be up half the night reading this great collection.