Mugging for the Camera
by RJ Clarken
Published by Self-Published/Virtualbookworm.com
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Reviewed by Claire Vath
“You have a way with words, ‘tis proved, for when you speak all doubt’s removed,” ends R.J. Clarken’s self-published debut book of poetry. Titled “Mugging for the Camera: A Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures (Give or Take a Few),” Clarken dishes up heaping helpings of nonsense.
Self-dubbed “An Album of Odd Poetry Snapshots,” Clarken’s poetry style is that there’s no cohesive style. Instead, it’s an expose’ of self-deprecating wit and charm with more than the occasional cliché tossed in for good measure.
Clarken tackles a mishmash of subjects, blending life in the suburbs with puns and current events. Her book is broken into chapters by subjects: The self portraits section includes “Why I hate to exercise” and “Giving Myself the Finger”; candids comprise such topics as “Root Canals,” “The Royal We” and “Guyliner”; and the photojournalism with current news sections feature “Carousel Thieves in Davis” and “Falling Short.”
While some poems fit neatly into the Shel Silverstein school of poetry, others are either too quirky for the average reader to really grasp onto or a bit too awkward meter-wise:
If it’s a cup of coffee you’ll want to scarf
but there’s no handle for you to grip it,
then you’ll need the use of a thing called a zarf,
since the cup company didn’t equip it.
Clarken, the editor of a literary journal, throws haikus, sonnets and couplets at the reader, resulting in utter malarkey. While her book may not be a sit-down-and-read-me-through for the masses, its quirks have perks (sometimes bad rhymes too), and its subjects tend to be light, witty and flippant. Whatever you think of her sometimes downright strange rhymes, the author has aired her heart and soul—and root canals and dirty laundry and extra pounds—for the sake of “Mugging for the Camera.”
Armchair Interviews says: A collection of “unique” poetry that will not appeal to everyone, but has its merits.