Break in Case of Glass, by Marc Meierkort

Poetry, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Break in Case of Glass goes on a search for reason and meaning. Call it a midlife crisis, a search for purpose, a second act, in these poems Marc Meierkort fully embraces the role of the poet and the possibilities of language as the means of feeling some semblance of control over, and understanding of, a world that is seemingly losing its collective mind. It’s in the making of poems that he is able to put voice to his fears and anxieties, asking questions about the nature of the Self (“I am”) and the role of meaning. In poems that speak to and through one another, in language that is flexible and joyful and direct and unpredictable, with tongue tucked firmly in cheek, Marc dives into the world of opposites and contradictions, looking for something to help make sense of his own existence, his life in the here and now, finding solace in the poem as a stand-in for his idea of the Self (I am = iamb), and coming to understand that it’s in the process of making the poem, in the practice, in the work, where he finds peace and that sense of purpose.

These poems also serve as love letters of a sort to language and poetry in all its auditory and rhythmic glory. They extol the virtues of being playful, of letting go, of being silly, of creating just to create, of finding humor in the absurdities of the modern world, without which the poet, the artist, the sensitive soul, would simply go mad. They are conscious of their existence on the page, sound and shape and line length often having more influence on direction and word choice than trying to convey any one specific message. Drifting between “playful” and “plain,” Break in Case of Glass aims to remind us that poetry, at its core, is music. That poems can sing and dance and jump around and have fun with language and be whatever the reader wants them to be. And, in the process of making a poem, Marc discovers what drives him to make the next one.

Marc Meierkort is Managing Editor for Allium, A Journal of Poetry & Prose and a poetry reader for Unwoven Literary & Arts Magazine. A Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, his work has appeared in BlazeVOX Journal, Roi Fainéant, and The Argyle Literary Magazine, among others. When he’s not making poems, Marc can be found crate-digging for records to add to his already too-large collection or following the trials and tribulations of his beloved White Sox. A former high school English teacher, he currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago.