Déjà Vu, a collection of poems and photographs (Corrupt Press, 2012) by Bonny Finberg

Reviewed by Steve Dalachinsky

The déjà vu in this collection is the act of magic one rarely finds in the interplay of image and word, but when one does, amazing us, we sigh and say, “‘ah,’ yet again. ‘Another unique vision — another individual way of seeing things.'”  In this powerful book Finberg provides her dual magic by presenting photos that are surreal yet make us feel rooted in place and, on the other hand, poems and a novella that, while rooted in the “real,” display dreamlike qualities. Both components ground us but at the same time push us away from the mundane. For example, in the image that accompanies the piece ‘fragments’ we see bright red flowers on a black and white balcony filled with sunlight, yet there is no distinction or blur between the two. We feel right at home because, as the poem explains, there is “the logic of beauty and the wait” in “early evening blue for cold, dark night.” The book is filled with these contradictions and, as the title poem suggests, this is a “clean reflection…in a moment that won’t stand still.” We look in the mirror and see life in its all its forms: the meat, the wine, dead lightning and coffee bars. Reflections of a life lived. Poem as image. Image as poem. “The thing itself…a window into the street.” Though Finberg states that “no one writes his autobiography in advance” this is a glance into her life and ours. “The logic of a sentence.  The nightmare of…magnificence.” “Stolen thoughts.” “Countless memories.” “A loosely textured fugue.”

“What is in a body?” Finberg asks. Well, in the body of this book we find electricity, intoxication, “the hungry heart,” “a heartless god,” the unlimited possibilities of the here and now as well as “the vantage point of no return.”

Publishers’ Weekly describes Bonny Finberg‘s work in Best American Erotica (Simon & Schuster) as “…(exuding) a stunning sensual sensibility.” She is included in the Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder’s Mouth), five Unbearables anthologies (Autonomedia) and Lost and Found: Stories from Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood. Her fiction, poetry, photography and reviews are included in Van Gogh’s Ear, Upstairs At Duroc (both published in Paris), the Brooklyn Rail, Evergreen Review and A Gathering of Tribes. She is also a staff writer for Sensitive Skin. Her chapbook collection of short stories, “How the Discovery of Sugar Produced the Romantic Era,” was published by Sisyphus Press.