Chapbook: Poems by Charles Bane Jr.

This book is a page turner and one to be revisited.

As you read Charles Bane, Jr's poems of love and its transformation, you find yourself in a kind of flow, each next piece a discovery. There is something about his chapbook. You must read it. His poems will sing themselves.


In "My old soul", a poem written to celebrate both the fragility of life and his Jewish heritage, Bane captures the glory, the beauty and the compassionate connectedness of all humanity. It is one of my favorite all time poems:


My old soul has sung before.
It has lain many hands in mine;
I reach for yours, and link it to he
who needs. He stands in Bergen-
Belsen in the rain, waiting his turn
to expire. He takes hands he cannot
save and sighs and breathes
the gas. He is a petal;
I see inside his heart. I love you as
he and they who follow down
the stairs. My hand takes yours and hers
and his. Be careful of their souls, they
are little suns. They rise in me and flame
the sanctuary where we stand, betrothed.


The art is attractive, the poetry, a journey through landscapes of the heart.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Should have been a picture book. The only poetry you are likely

Should have been a picture book.

The only poetry you are likely to find in this spectacularly underwhelming tome is deftly supplied by collaborative artist Isabelle Pruneau. So sad that her unique and inspired artwork will be forever inextricably linked to a maladroit, self-aggrandizing poetaster like Mr. Bane. Bane's banal fragments (you won't find a complete poem here) tell us nothing of his own voice. Instead we hear the one note solo of so many faceless MFA program poets that take themselves all too seriously. Bane does nothing special to separate himself from the workshop herd. Content with a certain happiness in stasis, the talent of one trick performed over and over again. Sadly the charade is a transpicuous one. It becomes quite clear, crystalline was the word some other reviewer used favourably (surely a friend of Mr. Bane's), that Mr. Bane is trying way too hard with absurdly minimal results for his seemingly herculean effort. The bloke should focus on writing one good sentence before he subjects the world to yet another rushed serving of his steaming tripe. Recommended to only the misguided poetry-as-hobby, wine and cheese festival retinue, you know, the ones that still guffaw at Shakespeare's jokes and fall in love with telly stars. These poems are plastic flowers, you'll require real ones to mask the odor it all to gleefully exudes. Almost gave it a second star out of respect to the ill-fated illustrator, but it would be unconscionable after reading such dross.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Transcendent Poetry

Charles Bane Jr. is a supremely talented poet. Here, he has created art with his poetry that will delight, inspire, and hypnotize the reader. He crafts imagery and meaning that embraces the soul. The gifted verse resonates through intangible -- yet intrinsic experience while taking one on numerous passionate and luminous journeys. The experience is further enhanced by Isabelle Pruneau's lovely illustrations. This memorable book is delicious to savor and reflect upon. I revisit this favorite book often -- it's that good -- Bane is that good.

Would welcome a reading from this gifted author as part of the Barnes and Noble event series in the SF bay area!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Move The Chapbook to the top of your MUST READ list!

Charles Bane, Jr. is one of the greatest poets of our generation. Bane has the intensity of Hecht yet turn the page and find yourself transported to another world absorbed in the sensuality of a waiting lover. The Chapbook exhibits what is known to those who are familiar with his work and what makes Bane a great poet, his soulful effortless ability to draw you in and keep you wanting more. Curbside Publishing's collaboration with designer Karolina Faber and illustrator Isabelle Pruneau was the perfect compliment to the unique poetry that is Charles Bane, Jr.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Poetic Perfection

Dear Reader, you will be held captive from the first sentences of this book. Your heart will experience every emotion, your spirit will sing, and your soul may very well be transformed after reading these words, so eloquently written, and beautifully illustrated.

Settle in, and prepare to read and re-read. This is a gift. This is poetry from the heart.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Profoundly beautiful.

I highly recommend this exquisite collection of poems by Charles Bane Jr. and sumptuous illustrations by Isabelle Pruneau. With every poem I read, I am left with a sense of awe, as if I just took a stroll and witnessed something profoundly beautiful and life-changing. Each one has a pure and crystalline quality; refined and elegant... this is a masterful work and alchemy for the soul!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful Soul, brilliant poet!

Charles poetry from my very first read ... held me in awe with the depth of love expressed. Gladly, say I cry when reading. Charles touches the soul of the reader, brilliant. You stand alone, Charles.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended. The world should know this book.

There is a profound beauty and richness to Charles Bane Jr's poetry that reveals a depth of soul...deep living. Each delicate poem has a vitality, a luminosity that appeals to ordinary people,like myself, and academic poets who share marvelous reviews. I will ever return for more of his precious work! Chapbook, with his radiant, tender poetry and rich illustrations will forever be a Treasure in my library, and will be read again and again..always. His beautiful work is the truly a gift of love. I intend, and will continue to provide it as THE best and most marvelous gift to family and friends. Simply stunning!!!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Sublime

The exquisite poems of Charles Bane, Jr, and the delicately rendered illustrations by Isabelle Pruneau are utterly transporting. The beauty and sensitivity conveyed through word and image take readers of "The Chapbook" on an incomparable sensual journey. As with any great artwork, in the presence of these compositions, the heart opens and the soul is revealed. Yet it is not simply the poet or the artist who is carving out new areas of aesthetic experience on these pages; every reading of these poems stirs a deep and tender response in the reader. Even the untouchable places in the poet's soul have been lain bare for the reader, and yet each poem also exposes readers to the beautiful secrets that they too have long kept hidden in the shadows. Such is the joy of this book, that in every word and between every word, the interior spaces are opened to reveal the beauty within the poet, the artist, and the reader. I have not ever been so touched by a book of poetry as by this stunning collection.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Exquisite

The poetry in this book beckons me. To me, art is soul expression, and this poetry genuinely embodies artistry. The unique and refined essence of these poems go beyond talent and technique and into the realm of mastery. As Charles's poetry touches you, it awakens a voracious hunger for life-to touch, to feel, to remember, to love. It aches with meaning and passion. I find him brilliant. I also enjoyed the delicately beautiful touch of Isabelle Pruneau's illustrations throughout the book. I highly recommend this book, and am confident that it is one that lovers of poetry will cherish.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A poet elegant and gentleman

La prima espressione che mi viene in mente per definire Charles Bane é: 'é un vero signore'.Una persona elegante nell'animo e nel modo di scrivere.E' un poeta di talento e di certo ci regalera' altre perle come questa.E' impossibile non lasciarsi traspotare,non entrare nel mondo di sentimenti,di passione e di sensibilita' che cosi'sapientemente e potentemente descrive.E'un libro toccante,coinvolgente e seducente.Sono notevoli i disegni di Isabelle Pruneau,artista canadese di grande sensibilita' ,classe e talento.Raccomandato per coloro i quali amano una lettura di qualita'

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Digne d'intérêt

J'ai apprécié ce livre du début a la fin. Belle écriture et charmantes illustrations. Je le recommande a tout les amateurs de poésie.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Breathtakingly Beautiful. A must read for the entire world.

From the moment you hold "The Chapbook" in your hands you are capitvated by the exquisite beauty. Every word touches the heart. You will re-read it over and over. Each time being spellbound. Leaves a reader intoxicated. The stunning illustrations complement so beautifully. Every library to every coffee table should have this book.

The Chapbook

Desidero dare il mio pieno supporto e approvazione a questo magnifico libro il quale è l'espressione di grande devozione, lavoro quotidiano e amore per la poesia. Suggerisco di tutto cuore di comperare questa magnifica creazione, la quale darà, ad ogni lettore, modo di entrare nel mondo poetico di Charles Bane Jr., fatto di amore, grazia e passione. Ogni parola nei suoi poemi è l'espressione di questo personaggio unico, speciale.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A superb book!

Charles Bane Jr harvests words with an eye for the rare gem, and an ear for the music of the gods. His world is a world many thought was lost, a world of passion, unselfish love, sacrifice, an ode to the transforming power of love. Each poem is a catharsis, a cleansing of the soul through the trials of the heart, that Charles Bane Jr knows so well and speaks of with a voice that is as rich and deep as he, himself is. It is possible that there are no book in the entire world, like this book. I read his poems aloud, for the sheer joy of it, and to feel the exhilaration of a poetry whose words have the ability to lift me above my daily life. With his poems, Charles has created a work of art, that will rival the statues and monuments of the classic world. Timeless, his poems resonate in my head long after I put the book down. With a promise. To pick it up again soon, and read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended.

The book is a gem, very unique . His work are exciting and comforting.
His poems are passionate, sensual, touching . They go inside to your heart and soul , they are heartbreakingly beautiful...

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Instant Classic

The Chapbook is proof that the beauty of printed books will ultimately reside in the realm of the small press. Charles Bane Jr., a Chicago native, writes poetry that is timeless. This chapbook, his debut, is beautifully illustrated in lush pastel drawings by Canadian artist Isabelle Pruneau, and designed by Polish-born artist Karolina Faber. With the touch of these two artists, Charles' poems of happiness, struggle, and romance sing off the page. It is a book of poetry, first and foremost, but is also a work of art. Someone, please strike that violin. Pass me that bottle, because I want to drink, until I start to cry.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.