Work of the Day - February 25, 2007 - Bliss, Idaho by Kelly Spitzer
Bliss, Idaho by Kelly Spitzer can be found in Flashquake - it's a prose poem. Spitzer does a great job of dropping little details into her work: little ice balls forming on a cat's paws, the blue of ice slicks on the road, and she also really sets the atmosphere up great - the reader has no trouble imagining how cold it is for the narrator, how dark it is, or how lonely it might feel.
A sample:
"We stop for gas, oil, call in a day late to work, hope for coffee without scum on top. The roof over the pump lifts, drops, lifts, a corrugated metal hand waving welcome to the building storm. Inside, the man behind the counter wears plaid, a sweater-vest, watches the station sign break dance to the tempest. I think how brave people are to live here, where nature's a burden and beauty a horizon away. In the distance, raw land gives way to huddled cows, and a long stretch of interstate full of city cars going too fast."
I love the image of the 'corrugated metal hand' and its waving welcome to the storm that is building. This is the concluding paragraph to this prose poem and I think from beginning to end, Spitzer absolutely nailed both the little details, and the overall picture she was trying to portray.
Great story, Kelly!
Posted by: Katrina Denza | March 10, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Love this, Kelly!
Posted by: Debbie Ann Ice | March 10, 2007 at 03:16 PM
Hey, thanks, Katrina and Debbie! And, of course, Dan!
Posted by: Kelly Spitzer | March 10, 2007 at 07:59 PM