Split the Stick

Mac Wellman associates his poetry with nonsense. But his new book Split the Stick goes beyond the political nonsense of Victorianism and leaves language to float untethered. This book links poetry with the fantastic writings of Islam and the motifs of Persian miniatures. Based mostly on a rhythmic design with little else but a center margin to ground them, Wellman's designs leave the reader wondering what happened. Themes appear and disappear as his caravan of words winds through the landscape. Brilliant tropes flash in the darkness not to reappear for another 20 pages. Few poets have granted their work this much freedom and unfettered energy.