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In this instance, Volpert strategically closes her book by explaining
what she assumes her reader has experienced. She combines her cocky,
blunt, and limit-pushing attitudes in this conclusive poem by assuming
that she both lastingly influenced her audience in a way in which they
will miss her when their her poetry is gone. With this perfectly
calculated and cleverly positioned poem, Volpert turns her spontaneous
collection of stylistically different poems into a device that attempts
to bait and hook the reader. The closing line "you come willing"
directly addresses the reader in a violating and overly assuming
manner, which attempts to tease the reader with a tactical conclusion
of the collection.
Volpert's exploration of various styles within face blindness is also
contradicted by the author's conscious decision to disregard any form
of punctuation, a tool which could have been used to accentuate
Volpert's tendency to unpredictably push boundaries. However, the lack
of any commas, periods, capitalization, question marks, or exclamation
points connects the poems in a manner that the styles and tones of the
poems fail to do. It is the lack of punctuation that forces the poems
to collide and interact with one another. For instance, Volpert's poem
"litany payable upon request" explores the power of unwritten words,
specifically in her closing line, "what you don't know about this poem
will kill me." However, when readers flip to the next page, they
discover the extremely honest and direct poem "regarding," in which
Volpert openly releases her bitterness against Barbara Eckstein, a
member of the Department of English at University of Iowa. The lack of
punctuation acts as a link to the stylistically different poems and
therefore contradicts the impulsiveness behind Volpert's selections,
forcing the poems to co-exist not as separate entities but pieces to
the collection's puzzle.
As a result, these contradictions which exist within Volpert's face
blindness leave readers feeling used and disappointed in the lack of
purity which was expected to be found in a collection of debut poems.
At face value and first glance, face blindness seems to be uniquely
pure collection with a streak of unpredictability due to Volpert's
bold, fearless attitude and willingness to push boundaries without a
alterative motive. It is refreshing to discover a poet who writes for
the sake of poetry; this in itself is a hook for poetry proponents.
However, with the presence of seemingly calculated and strategic
decisions, face blindness becomes less of an impulsive, fresh
collection of poetry and more of a gimmick which merely attempts to
gain the appeal of readers. This alterative motive is hidden by the
diverse assortment of Volpert's selections and leaves readers feeling
duped and violated by the conclusion on of the book.
Being Volpert's debut book of poetry, face blindness bodes well; it
provides readers with an entertaining showcase of Volpert's talent and
limitlessly explores taboo topics and unanswered questions. By
combining a various selection of works with a cunning,
attention-grabbing strategy, Volpert leaves readers wondering what this
fearless poet will come up with next. Despite there being a lot to
like, however, one hopes that this bold poet will cut back on the
self-conscious gimmicks and let her poems speak for themselves.
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