Nights of Naomi by Bill Knott (1940-1966) (1971)

The fourth book of poetry by American poet Bill Knott (1940-2014).

Poetry Review:  When he wrote Nights of Naomi, Bill Knott had descended into madness or surrealism, or both, or neither. This chapbook was the third of his "Naomi" books, following The Naomi Poems, Book One: Corpse and Beans (1968), and Auto-Necrophilia, The _____ Poems. Book 2 (1971). Between those two books was another chapbook, Aurealism: A Study. At the time Knott, still adding imaginary life dates to his name, called Nights of Naomi his "first and only book," the others "like the patent office, full of garbage." This book consists of 32 untitled poems "plus 2 songs." Only three of the poems are the short poems for which he was best known. Nights of Naomi is an exploration of surrealism, his own internal universe, or overwhelming angst; perhaps all three. Although Knott's earlier books had tinges of surrealism, they were comprehensible. Here, he treats accessibility and understanding as foreign lands; only brief but enjoyable moments of awareness and recognition. I can find something to like in:

   Cueballs have invented insomnia in an attempt to forget eyelids

But more often I'm reading this:

   Like a razorblade choir of cocoa-steam footprints

There are moments in Nights of Naomi any Bill Knott fan will enjoy, but many more instances will be challenging at best and incomprehensible otherwise. Knott made such a break here from previous books that I'm surprised he retained the "Naomi" motif (he once again mentions poet Naomi Lazard). Here the surrealist lines may be an effort to express the unconscious, or maybe to not be required to have meaning, and without meaning Knott makes no judgments and is free from judgment. John Ashbery called surrealism the plane where the "subconscious and the concrete mingle on equal terms," and the "dance of non-discovery." That fits the poetry in this book; here, Knott is operating on levels other than the conscious mind, perhaps even trying to write poems that occur all at once, rather than linearly.

Not to say the book can't be read, just that it should be approached differently. Read Nights of Naomi emotionally, perhaps reflecting the emotion (anger?) that wrote it. Read it for the wordplay. Don't try to apply logic, just hang on while riding the sounds and images. Don't try to understand it, simply accept and sink into it. Read it late at night, early in the morning -- see when it might speak to you, if ever. Read it more for what you might take away, than what the poet was trying to say.

I'll close with two more quotes, one I found interesting:

   When I pick up a new poetry book
   I always glance first at the biographical note
   If the poet has children I don't read the book

and one lovely:

   ... I kiss the first letter of all alphabets to fuse the
   last word of all languages ... .

Don't be afraid, don't hesitate, don't wait to read Nights of Naomi (it can be found on-line at the Bill Knott Archive). Bizarre may be good for what ails you. [3.5 Stars]