I’m certainly not an arbiter of what counts as “good” art, but I can recognize that Ostrowski demonstrates a clear mastery of poetic language.
by Robin Dubree
On April 3rd, I had the opportunity to attend a poetry reading sponsored by the English Department here at IUSB. The featured author was Steven Ostrowski, the first winner of Wolfson Press’s annual Poetry Chapbook Contest in 2021. I’ve attended a poetry reading online before, but this was my first time attending one in person, and I’m so thankful I did. Steven Ostrowski read both from the winning book, Persons of Interest, and his most recent book of poetry, Life Field. In my opinion, there’s something so valuable about being able to hear poetry read aloud, even though it is primarily presented to readers in print. I was able to pick up a copy of Persons of Interest and have it signed after the reading, and I spent the rest of the night poring over the words and really absorbing Ostrowski’s work. I always find that I need some time to let the words sit with me after hearing poems read aloud. Good poetry seems to find a way to make me aware of my very small but unique place in the universe, and I was struck with that feeling on my way home from the event.
Persons of Interest is made up of poems that are all in some way dedicated to or inspired by someone else, whether famous artists or old friends. Ostrowski spoke at length about the ways in which each of these people impacted him and his writing, and hearing this context gave each poem so much more weight and soul. In particular, he described being a child surrounded by the sounds of folk artists from the 1960s – Bob Dyan, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, among others. The way in which these musicians crafted their lyrics resonated with him deeply, and inspired him both to start writing poetry and playing music. In addition to the former, Ostrowski also writes fiction (having just published his first novel, The Highway of Spirit and Bone, last year) and paints. During the reading he described himself as a “jack of all trades, master of none,” but personally, I think that was far too humble a claim. I’m certainly not an arbiter of what counts as “good” art, but I can recognize that Ostrowski demonstrates a clear mastery of poetic language.
The book begins with “Skeleton Blood Memoir With Bob,” as reference to Bob Dylan. Right away, his words make impact. One stanza reads:
And it doesn’t leave you, ever.
Leaves tracks that harp in your blood.
Leaves you spastic balletic, moonful in your poems,
howl-round in the bedroom, a little lonely in the eye sockets
but approaching mystic. His ghost songs,
even fifty years down the highway,
shiver like the last hotel in the hurricane.
Immediately I was gripped by not only the excellent musicality of the word choice, but by the conviction in each line. Ostrowski’s writing is earnest and down-to-earth in an honestly refreshing way. He invokes the spirit of the subject both by illustrating the feeling of their music (in “Neil Young”, lines like “His eyes follow the rolling wave / of pink-tinted grain; his cracked hand spreads open / like a power chord’s gush / through a mahogany hall”) and in repurposing their lyrics (in “Windows”: “Neil Young has that line in ‘Helpless’: ‘Blue blue windows behind the / stars…’ / I always liked that; that he put the windows behind the stars. That the / stars come first”). I could’ve never heard a single song by Neil Young, and still walked away from reading each poem with a reverence for him; that’s how convinced I was by Ostrowski’s poetry. His writing is witty, approachable, and incredibly well-crafted. He puts his writing philosophy best at the end of “Wayward in the Blood”: “Me, I’m still writing my gravel and dust poems. / For who? I couldn’t say. Doesn’t matter. I know this for sure: / I’m doing what I want to do”. And what more could you possibly ask for?
Steven Ostrowski is Professor Emeritus at Central Conneticut State University and a poet, fiction writer, visual artist and songwriter. His work has been published in numerous literary journals and magazines. He is the author of seven books of poetry (one co-authored with his son, Ben Ostrowski) and two books of fiction. You can purchase Persons of Interest at the Wolfson Press website. You can also purchase his latest book, Life Field, on his personal website.
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