Book review by Joyce Metzger

DUCKWALKING THRU THE APOCALYPSE
by S.A. Griffin
2003; (s/s 20pp Centerfold photo by Edward Ajamiam) Bottle of Smoke
Press, 503 Tuliptree Square, Leesburg, VA 20176
$5.00

S.A. Griffin lives and writes in Los Angeles. He is the co-editor
of "The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry" (Thunder's Mouth Press 1999),
and most recently ther author of "Unborn Again" (Phony Lid Books 2001)
S.A. Griffin is a bit anti-social, I would think, or maybe he just
doesn't like his photo snapped, for in the back-of-the-book shot his
large hand is covering most of his face, with one all knowing eye
peering from between two splayed fingers.

Shy? I doubt that. Ducks are easy targets and Griffin's vision must be
understood to realize its significance. An apocalypse, at least the
original writing of the same, was filled with pseudonymity, symbolic
imagery, and the expectation of an imminent cosmic cataclysm in which
"God" destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to
life in a promised messianic kingdom. We might also refer to an
"apocalypse" as a prophetic revelation. The centerfold of this slender
volume seems to shout that S.A. Griffin isn't fooling around, he is
dead serious enough about impending disaster, and the ancient precepts
of lives transformed through inner alchemy (the latter being poetry).
He transformed an entire billboard at the corner of Sunset/Hillhurst &
Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA in August 2002 with his writing which begins:

"I choose not to believe in war holy or not
if I were Christ I would be a drink of water
if I were Buddha I would gladly kill myself
in the garden of your eyes forever..."

S.A. Griffin not only has vision, but he posseses an abundance of
bold audacity; that behavior characteristic of a maddened/saddened
bull bellowing out awareness of the end just before the bull fight,
where the toreador always wins. The time for shouting with a loud deep
hollow sound is over, and all air expelled from lungs now, is forceful
and surely tainted by the acrid contamination of fearfulness.
If we are facing a holy apocalypse, many believe, we through careless
actions over the years, throughout the world, have brought the stones of
inevitablity down upon our own unprotected heads.
Griffin's thoughts are divergent frameworks surrounding honed-in-upon
targets.

"Final Words"
the great author
and the great publisher...
with inimitable style
and certain character
created quite a name for themselves
and one another...
over the course of the years
the poet and writer
became the stuff of legend
inspiring legions of
upstarts/critics/and pretenders
pen in hand
to come gunning
but he was matchless...

***
"Been Ridin' This Train For So God Damned Long, It Ain't
Never Gonna get Me Home"

funny what one thin dime'll get ya in this
crazy city...
built upon the bones of hope
the soup of years comes on like a sudden fiction
as the characters all find out who they are
in the end

S.A. Griffin has lain an excellent trodden course as a pathfinder. The
inner trials and tribulations are his alone, but sentient words can
nudge each toward major discoveries, and yes, perhaps, contradictions
of their own. When bone hard beliefs are questioned, something is
bound to crumble, and later, if all goes well, perhaps the new
pieces will fit together well enough to support a foundation to
rebuild, stone by stone, a stronger, more durable house. Read between
the lines, folks, there are still rays of hope.

S.A. Griffin's work is always fascinating. Order a copy and discover
for yourself. Don't take my word for anything!

Copyright Jan 1, 2003 Joyce Metzger