Review: Now In Contest

The Irrevocable Human Desire for Emotion
Review: Now In Contest

BriAnna Sankey
​
​Richard Levine
Poetry
Fernwood Press
Cost: $18.00 (Paperback)

Human beings are born to connect emotionally with one another, hardwired to feel a range of emotions which are dependent on our situation and surrounding environment. In his collection of poems, Now in Contest, Richard Levine explores what it means to be human when life seems to throw so much negativity into the world. How do we carry on when it feels like we’re drowning? Levine shows the heartbreaking nature of what mankind is capable of, but also the beauty in the little things that we as a society collectively enjoy; the shared emotional connection that we have not only with each other, but the world around us. Through emotional imagery, metaphor, and symbolism Levine is able to take the reader on a journey of self-reflection, as he juxtaposes the spectrum of human emotion.

Levine structures this book into four parts that each focus on a different human emotion. Part one is titled, “The Law of Blood and Death” which focuses on evil and tragedy that has scarred the world including the Holocaust, school shootings, racism, police brutality, and war. Levine’s poem “For All Your Days” references the damage war inflicts: “So know this to be true: enforce the law of blood and death, / and for all your days it will enshroud you as its keeper” (lines 26-27). Soldiers may come home from war, but the memories will never let them rest. Grief is an emotion that we all process differently, and yet we all collectively know what it feels like. In the poem “All our Glass Faces” Levine references the serial numbers branded on Jewish people:

But the numbers I saw
were impressed on human flesh, flesh of my flesh,
fellow jews who I knew by name, at home, at school,
and at synagogue, where I soon after would abandon God."
(lines 31-34)

This haunting image is one that isn’t easy to forget, especially for those who have a constant reminder in permanent ink on their wrists. It is a symbol of the evil man is capable of, and the hate that is still very much alive in this world.

​Part two is titled “The Law of Peace, Work, and Health,” which is a complete juxtaposition from part one as it focuses on joy and highlights the little things in life: a man holding his first grandchild on fathers day, or the feeling of a “perfect” day. Levine shows the audience the beauty of human connection in a world that seems socially and emotionally disconnected through powerful metaphors that make you immediately put down the book, and reflect on how you live your life. 

In the poem, “The Law of Peace, Work, and Health” Levine offers the question, if a bird sings a beautiful song alone in the woods, yet no one is there to hear it, how does one share such a message of peace with the world? (lines 7-9). Little things go unnoticed because everyone is so focused on negativity in the world. When we take the time to appreciate what’s around us, we realize what we were previously blind to. The bird is a metaphor for humanity which shows how we ignore those around us, even when there is beauty in the simplicity of daily life. “School Days” discusses the beauty of language and how it will forever be the most powerful form of human connection: “I pack / language and inventions we shaped, / history we made. All our fingerprints are there” (lines 12-14). This sentimental image made me feel like I belonged to something bigger than myself; it’s a powerful example of how we are all interconnected. Language has changed and developed over time, and so has mankind. At some point we decided to create a language to communicate because we craved the feeling of connection. We are not so different from each other, everyone just wants to be understood in a world full of confusion. It’s a joyous sentiment that our influence will be ingrained in time, as Levine expresses our fingerprints will attest to.

Human beings crave emotional connection, but somewhere along the way there was a disconnect with the environment that surrounds us, and the neglect became catastrophic. In part three, “The Law of Endangered Environments, Viruses, and Hope,” Levine focuses on the anger in reference to the negative impact on the natural environment due to man. Our actions have consequences, and people go around on a daily basis oblivious to how many animals have become endangered due to human overconsumption, or the severity of global warming. In the poem “Our Turn,” Levine uses metaphor as a wake up call for society to open their eyes:​

Perhaps it is too damn late for us to see
through the latte steam, the increasing number
of missing pieces in the chain of life we're linked to,
as sure as the drive thru queue we are waiting on,
​wondering how close it is to our turn." (lines 15-19)

Using the metaphor of this ordinary scene, Levine compares humankind to the next species on the list of extinction. He plays on the ignorance of society who indulge primarily on trivial ordeals such as prioritizing coffee over the condition of the planet they live on and safeguarding the future of generations to come.  Pretty soon mankind will be the one on the chopping block, facing extinction after selfishly using up all the resources Earth has to offer.     ​

​Part four, “Covid’s Metamorphosis,” focuses on the feeling of fear in reference to how outside forces can change society in an instant, and have damaging effects. A virus that no one saw coming united us in fear but divided us in solitude. Even years later, as we wash our hands we can’t wash away the “jellyfish sting of fear,” as Levine writes in his poem titled “Blessing Our Hands” (line 34). Using this metaphor, Levine channels the palpable fear that society collectively felt during the pandemic and emphasizes how unpredictable and everlasting the impact was. You can never predict when that fear will creep up on you, and though the emotional scars may fade, I think we can all agree that the memories linger.

Levine calls into question humanity's ability to move on from traumatic moments in history, and as the collection nears its conclusion, he’s calling out those of us who still let our hands linger a bit too long under the soap and running water. There is great evil, and fear in this world, but Levine offers a collection of poems that help remind us of the beauty and joy that is still out there if we just take the time to find it. After all, we are only human.