Robert Seydel’s ‘Songs of S.’

S., locked in a room, is singing. He is surrounded by dust and books about the South Pole, animals, “Paleolithic Masters,” and poetry. He lives around the corner from Emily Dickinson, another shut-in, who visits S. “in form of a bee.” And he sings and sings; in fact, he writes, “songs / dominating / everything / now –,” ending the line with hisfamous neighbor’s signature dash.

I was lucky enough to study with Robert Seydel at Hampshire College from 2008 – 2011, when he died suddenly of a heart attack. ‘Songs of S.’ is a book of Robert’s poetry and drawings that was recently published by Siglio Press and Ugly Duckling Presse. You can read the rest of my brief review over at The Improbable.