Just received Things Just Come Through/ Korean Spring Orchid from Ed Baker’s Red Ochre Press. This slight collection of minimal poems proves true the old maxim that “Less is more, but often less is less!” In this case, unfortunately, Ed is teetering on the brink of a yawn, even though he attempts to add to the authenticity of what he writes by providing his own Hangul translations. Anyone who writes:

walking

mind

looking

AI!

Such-much-more

should be condemned to declaim these words to the folks at the midnight market in downtown Pusan during rainy season. (And that’s one of the best in the booklet!)

But then again, as Cid always said—this is just my opinion and I’m often wrong.

More information about this and other Ed Baker projects is available here.