Blinking with Fists

The frontman and lyricist for the Smashing Pumpkins--whose alternative-rock hits soared through millions of radios in the mid-1990s--enters the arena of the written word with this passionate, if rarely subtle, debut. Corgan has also worked in Chicago-area theater and in spoken-word performance, and his free verse often shows the directness associated with those venues, as well as the oddities fans of his lyrics will know: ""The way/ You look/ At me/ Makes me/ Lonely/ Grinding tears/ Behind a mask/ Made of/ Abalone,"" begins ""The Sun of Flowers."" Hope, dreams and erotic excitement are frequent themes, while nautical or seaside settings predominate: ""the most eternal sun-drenched kiss,"" Corgan exclaims, ""is locked in my mind as something I won't miss/ Or even try to remember."" Other work may resonate with fans, yet strike even them as vague, even amateurish: ""Whatever was needed will find its way home/ Delivered with riches and prayers full of soul."" The title, with its intimations of a frustrated child, may be the best thing about this collection, and its most appropriate introduction.