Mr. Either/Or: A Novel in Verse

A book-length poem, even a well-crafted one, is a challenge for the unwary, as shown by this mystical adventure in verse from Poochigian (Manhattanite). The eponymous hero (written in the second person, which makes him you) and his lady love, art historian Li-ling Levine, journey through a murky New York City awash in transcendent ooze and gore. Mr. Either/Or must cross the city with a box containing the Dragon’s Claw, an item that contains within it the concentrated evil of an ancient time, and prevent the box from being opened and its contents unleashed on the world. After this success, with barely time to rest, he goes after an artifact, from a UFO crash at Roswell, N.Mex., that has shown up in a New York nightclub. Mr. Either/Or soon finds himself embattled by lizard aliens with gelatinous insides as the artifact spawns a monster that grows and re-creates itself bit by bit. The required suspension of disbelief is never quite achieved, perhaps because the form demands as much attention as the story. [em](Oct.) [/em]