Inaiane / Now By Vaughan Rapatahana

“Inaiane / Now”

By Vaughan Rapatahana

170 pages

ISBN: 978-81-8253-774-3

Cyberwit

Copyright 2021

Review by LB Sedlacek

Besides the translations which always make poems highly original, this is a very inventive book of poetry!  It’s always quite the feat when a poet can write in more than one language, but Rapatahana takes it one step further giving the reader such an original experience with his verses.

I became fascinated with the poem “knitting a poem.”  I do not knit myself, never have, but I know so many people who like to do it and I’ve always admired the creations they make.  Here, in this poem, Rapatahana turns this craft into poem making. 

Lines from the poem: 

I’m knitting this poem /

for you. knit 1 purl 2. /

found the pattern /

in an old drawer /

fraying at the seams. knit 1 purl 2.

Imagine going to the store and buying words for poems, and bringing them home.  Then pull them out and work them together with pens, pencils, a typewriter or maybe a computer.  What a fresh idea and way of writing a poem!

            Many surprises await the reader with each turn of the page.  Sometimes reading a book with translations (no matter your preferred language) can be off-putting.  But, Rapatahana does a terrific job with visuals and lines.  You won’t be lost reading these poems or wondering what they may mean. 

From the poem “seasonal”:

the sun has rung in sick

this morning;

won’t be around today.

What if the sun really did take a sick day?  Observation is the key to poetry and well you must be able to make your own if you wish to write something that is entirely yours. 

            The poem “our men are killing themselves” uses this one line almost exclusively throughout the entire poem:  “our men are killing themselves” interspersed with some facts about suicide.  This is a worldwide problem and suicide prevention day was held just this past week in the US as I write this.  Rapatahana expresses the problematic facts of this tragic issue with a punch at the gut poem. 

            The poems in this collection are mostly written in free verse, some conversational type poetry, visual poems, as well as a few other styles.  Rapatahana is an accomplished author and holds a Ph.D from the University of Auckland.  He is also the author of seven previous poetry collections.

~LB Sedlacek is the author of the poetry collections “I’m No ROBOT,” “This Space Available,” “Words and Bones,” “The Blue Eyed Side,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” “Swim,” and “The Poet Next Door.”  Her non-fiction books include “The Poet Protection Plan” and “Electric Melt:  How to Write, Publish, Read Walt Whitman and Survive as a Writer and Poet).  Her short story collection is entitled “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories.”  She writes poetry reviews for  www.thepoetrymarket.com  You can find out more:  www.lbsedlacek.com