by Nicole Yurcaba
Shawn Hoo’s chapbook of the Florids reads more like a beginner’s guidebook to taxonomy and natural history than a poetry chapbook. It’s a brief, erudite collection which leaves readers either wanting to research more of George Cuvier’s studies, explore Sumatra’s deepest landscapes, or scratch their temples and ask themselves, “What did I just read?” If anything, of the Florids takes experimentation to an entirely new level, and it’s a level few may be able to access.
Relying on past and present scenes from natural history, of the Florids does, nonetheless, have a few elements working in its favor. Readers will notice the Dylan Thomas-esque forms permeating the collection. “Natural History of the Florids, 19th Century” initially relies on standard, compressed stanzas. At line 8, the structure shatters into subsequent double-spaced lines, stacked and indented to form a tornado-like shape which tapers down the page. Experimental forms are great, especially when they challenge readers. However, occasionally form should uplift function and language. Instead, the experimental form detracts from the poem’s (potentially) philosophical message, which is actually quite beautiful: “like wild grass / is where we begin.” Similarly, “Night Geography” relies on tapering, slanting lines which veer left to right. In this poem, language and structure coincide well. The structure emphasizes lines like “my palms fumble to unscrew the tightness,” which otherwise would simply go unnoticed.
A few poems redeem of the Florids. “Tending Eden with a Hatchet” is part religious critique, part anti-imperialist commentary. Bearing lines like “he said ‘Let there be light,’ and there was,” the poem alludes to the Judeo-Christian creation story. Subtle critiques about religion’s rigidity enter into the poem via parenthetical statements: “(he who compared repression / to sex– always easier the second time).” Quietly, the speaker criticizes modern society as they observe how “people got busier” and society became more and more distanced from nature. The speaker lambastes both the creator and the creation: “His architects of reproduction must have // over-scaled the height: now we live / in frigid, high-rise apartments.” Here, the poem turns, shifting into an anti-imperialist denunciation as the speaker observes humanity is no longer “mouthing the babel / of our mother tongues // no more.” Surprisingly, the speaker’s anger is quiet, nearly unnoticeable.
Like Sarah Mangold’s Her Wilderness Will Be Her Wildness, of the Florids asks readers to study natural history and the unrecognized contributions of those whose voices history and assimilation silenced. It also asks readers to identify the environments and creatures war and progress destroyed. “Eliminate,” the final section in the poem “Natural History of the Florids, 20th Century,” dissects The Great Zoo Massacre. In 1943, Governor General of Tokyo Odachi Shigeo ordered the extermination of animals at the Ueno Zoo as Japan retreated on most of its fronts during World War II. “Eliminate” considers Shigoe’s actions: “Did he place the word massacre in the field to light the word defeat?” The speaker is critical, listing animals such as “three baby crocodiles.” The speaker highlights not only Japan’s actions, but also those of the British at Singapore’s Punggol Zoo in 1942. The speaker asks “what are their names?” and begs “Release their names.” Their questioning and their begging is a moral call to recognize the nonhuman life wars claim.
of the Florids is scientific, clinical, yet it’s simultaneously a linguistic, stylistic ruckus. This ruckus mimics the confusion and chaos which emerges when humanity encroaches on the natural world. For some readers, its poems will be small spaces of inquiry and imagination. Others will, perhaps, close the collection and admire its colorful, intriguing cover.
Nicole Yurcaba (Ukrainian: Нікола Юрцаба–Nikola Yurtsaba) is a Ukrainian (Hutsul/Lemko) American poet and essayist. Her poems and essays have appeared in The Atlanta Review, The Lindenwood Review, Whiskey Island, Raven Chronicles, West Trade Review, Appalachian Heritage, North of Oxford, and many other online and print journals. Nicole teaches poetry workshops for Southern New Hampshire University and is a guest book reviewer for Sage Cigarettes, Tupelo Quarterly, Colorado Review, and The Southern Review.
