West Toledo inspired these poems by Larry Rochelle, "Ghostly Embers," and each poem is a vision, often accurate, yet sometimes skewed, of life during the decade of the 1950s. Factory workers come home tired after a long day, yet still find energy to play fast-pitch softball. Teenagers do their homework, while chatting with friends and drinking a chocolate Coke at the corner drug store. Political threats of the McCarthy Era dominate conversation, yet the dark clouds signal only a storm, not nuclear holocaust.
The Blue Streak Edition ... At 5:15 each day in the 1950s, newsboys awaited the delivery of The Toledo Blade in front of Fairmont Pharmacy. When the bundle hit the sidewalk, newsboys steadied their bikes, ready to deliver the "Blue Streak." The poetry in "Ghostly Embers" serves as a vision of the West Side of Toledo, Ohio, complete with tennis matches, gutter tag and the aroma of boiled dinners wafting into the late afternoon sunshine. Larry Rochelle explores his 1950s West Toledo neighborhood, offering glimpses of atom bomb paranoia, duck and cover practices and a community cohesiveness not found in today's suburbs. He exposes us to Christmas Midnight Mass at Gesu and offers a good read in the Peach pages of The Toledo Blade.
Excerpt
Blue Streak Edition
not for others
do poets write,
their minds churning
for pithy words
so exact that mind-
meaning streaks with
delight.
no, poets search internal
engines for truth-
telling on their own
watch,
keeping themselves,
honest,
telling themselves,
to be exact.
assuring their own psyche’s
quietude,
so blue madness does not
steal their souls.
Professional Reviews
Tapestry of Toledo
Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo
By Larry Rochelle
BookSurge (2005) Amazon $13.99
ISBN 1419604554
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (1/07)
I’ve never been to Toledo but through the poetry of Larry Rochelle in “Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo” I feel as though I’ve ventured through the city, exploring each corner, looking through shop windows, experiencing Toledo as one of its citizens.
Rochelle weaves a tapestry of words to show the Toledo of his memories. The tapestry shows the ice storm, youth playing “Gutter Tag” on the pages. In “Point Place Ice Storm” I could feel the cold and see the dazzle of the ice. “Gutter Tag” speaks of children playing the game. He tells of riding the train. On and on he shares the sights, sounds and odors of Toledo. The poems of this book touch your senses.
I believe my favorite of all the poems was “The Cat That Cried Dead Kittens.” I know that’s an odd choice but I could see and feel the pain the cat felt, the great pain of losing her children. The boy was filled with curiosity, and followed the track of her footprints through the snow.
“so sure was I that I rolled the big rocks
away pushing them deeper into the snow so
I might see. I waited
this night for the moans, the agony of the wild
beast patrolling the back yard each full moon,
a cat like no other mother, not concealing the depth
of sadness, the voice howling with pain,
carrying her dead kittens
though the yard and past the creek,
each step locked in icy snow, no problem to track
the morbid cargo down through thick thistles,
their summer brightness grayed by winds near zero,
the beast raking its belly
in painful petulance, with all her mother’s zeal
confounded by hunger, tears and babies
who would not wake even as she kissed their fur and loved their little toes.”
Larry Rochelle is an accomplished author. He has successfully shared his memories of Toledo with his readers. He takes paper and uses words to paint his pictures. I recommend “Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo” to those who enjoy poetry.
