Poem Strip serves as proof of Buzzati's range as not just an author, but as a creator in general. He can write phenomenally and he's not too shabby as an artist either, not to mention he's capable of reimagining classic stories in new and interesting ways.Buzzati gives us a punk rock comic strip take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, where our rock star main character descends into an underworld that's more lascivious than the underworld of old, perhaps, and where the challenges he faces are of a different nature as well. Thanks to a poetry club in college I've read at least the very least half a dozen takes on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, and the simple story can be made to convey an amazing range of messages and emotions with only a few subtle tweaks. Among the many versions of the myth Buzzati's can stand proudly among them, with a message about letting go that serves as a natural, but still poignant twist on the story.So long you're okay with the graphic novel format I'd recommend you check out Poem Strip, even if you haven't had much exposure to the Orpheus and Eurydice myth before. Could not finish. The book is sexist and racist. The black woman doesn't even get a name, just referred to as "a black girl." As if the black women are interchangeable/all the same. The dreamlike-surreal topic would have worked if the storytelling was better. This may have been innovated in the 60s to some people (those that don't notice the -isms stated above), but now it just reads as dated.Blah.
Do You like book Poema A Fumetti (2005)?
Not as good as some of Buzzati's other books, but so short that it deserves a read and a re-read.
—gorgeousN
"And over the Kalahari desert the turreted clouds of eternity floated slowly by."
—paige151015
