Review: Brisk Verse by Garrison Keillor

The legendary storyteller of Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor, shows his inimitable skills once again with Brisk Verse, an acerbic and entertaining collection of inspired poetry. Simultaneously playful and profound, these clever, hopeful, and wide-ranging poems are imbued with perfect comedic timing and smirking irreverence.

As Keillor explains in the book’s foreword, he’s in the “age of gratitude,” meaning that he doesn’t have time to complain or spend his attention dwelling on the evils and pains of the world. For that reason, this collection isn’t driven by heartbreak, grief, existential crises, or loss, apart from the occasional brutal aside: Life is hard. Lord, the miseries we bear.

Instead, the author uses his poetry to share wisdom gleaned from the everyday trials of his exceptional life, ranging from advice on being polite and courteous to lessons on performing, writing, and engaging with the world as a storytelling bard. Capturing snapshots of American life, belief, and culture with his signature style, these poems bounce gleefully from ball games, fly fishing, and the tragic fate of Norma Jean to New York uncles and dream-fueled sojourns to L.A.

Even when the subject matter veers heavier, such as in the chapter “Perils and Pitfalls,” the poems are effortlessly sage and sardonic, on subjects as varied as a criticism of capitalism or lamenting modern romance. Many poems are laced with Keillor’s perennial snark and wit with a cheek-stuck tongue, while others are sincerely observational, introspective, and casually philosophical. Embracing the full spectrum of human experience, or at least acknowledging that life is about more than deep emotions and seminal moments, the collection elevates the banal to the beautiful, whether it’s a brief musing on the turning of the seasons, detailing the struggles of raising tomatoes, or a simple pleading wish to a higher power that is shy to reply.

Throughout, there is a simplicity and bluntness to the poems, offering the same no-nonsense truth-telling that has defined Keillor’s writing career – the perfect blend of accessibility, honesty, and pastoral edginess, and it is nigh impossible to not hear these poems read in Keillor’s soothing, familiar voice. Many pieces in the collection exemplify Keillor’s consummate style, but few address it as directly as “Brevity”: “Whenever you talk, whenever you sing. / Don’t be too much of a good thing. / Wisdom is wiser in smaller pieces. / Don’t make a sermon into a thesis.” There are no epic poems here, and few that surpass two pages, yet each piece feels overstuffed with deeper meaning and off-the-cuff import. The title of the collection reflects this intentional return to simpler times, subjects, and rhyme schemes, but the content remains quietly brilliant even with the brevity.

From an editorial standpoint, the ordering and formatting are flawless, and the flow of poetry never becomes too repetitive or narrowly focused, while the black-and-white advertising photos for cure-all elixirs and century-old event posters add a puckish whimsy to the reading experience. All told, this is another savvy addition to Keillor’s unparalleled body of work, and a reminder of his masterful flexibility with the written word.