I like dirty old men who pose in front of Playboy pinup posters with that flicker in their eye. And I like Judson Crews playing the dirty old man in a cruder way than Locklin or Bukowski. There's no pretentiousness, and whatever misogyny there is seems to be neutralized by the harmlessness Crews projects. In one poem, Crews asks: "What am I looking for when I walk into/ A topless bar? Is it to see a good looking/ young woman degrade herself in front of/ My eyes?" Another poem comes out of the same turf: "If you publish these love poems, was/ Her final word, I'll sue your ass for/ defamation of character--and further-/ More, for maligning my butt." There is sex here, but it carries an inherent innocence: these are soft gentle poems, by a man remembering and touching his lost virility, by a man looking back on his youth.--oberc
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #4,
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