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A review by laurelinwonder
All My Heroes Are Broke by Ariel Francisco
5.0
The speaker of these poems is one who is constantly reading/reflecting on the work of his predecessors. Moving from New York City in Part I to Florida in Part II, the speaker uses poetry and his experiences as a working class, first-generation American as a lens through which to paint a narrative of victories and struggles.
Of these family poems, the one that haunts me still is "Upon Encountering A Street Mural of Super Mario, I Think of my Mother". The speaker recalls a birthday when he receives an NES, "already outdated by two successors:/the Super Nintendo and the N64." Continuing the speaker remembers "blitzing through homework/and dinner to play every night" and the anxiety of the message "your princess is in another castle". The poem's close possesses remarkable impact when considering the game's message and considering the speaker's mother playing too. The speaker writes:
She got farther than I ever did
though I never thought much of it,
figured she was just trying to relax
before going to work — it didn't occur
to me that she was try
to save herself.
The speaker’s knowledge of literary history and its influence on him is both implicit and explicit throughout the collection; the speaker often references other poets, writers, and even rap musicians by name, but the influence of these artists is evident in Francisco’s stylistic and formal choices, as well.
What makes Francisco’s speaker so appealing is the way he views connection with poets the same as connection with real-life people in his life. Francisco’s speaker never lets the reader forget that he is, has been, poor, and that he is still a full, vibrant person.
The poems in All My Heroes Are Broke are about broken heroes, broken natures, and broken homes — but I recall a line from James Wright's "The Accusation": "I loved your face because your face/was broken. When my hands were heavy,/You kissed me only in a darkness/To make me daydream you were lovely."
Of these family poems, the one that haunts me still is "Upon Encountering A Street Mural of Super Mario, I Think of my Mother". The speaker recalls a birthday when he receives an NES, "already outdated by two successors:/the Super Nintendo and the N64." Continuing the speaker remembers "blitzing through homework/and dinner to play every night" and the anxiety of the message "your princess is in another castle". The poem's close possesses remarkable impact when considering the game's message and considering the speaker's mother playing too. The speaker writes:
She got farther than I ever did
though I never thought much of it,
figured she was just trying to relax
before going to work — it didn't occur
to me that she was try
to save herself.
The speaker’s knowledge of literary history and its influence on him is both implicit and explicit throughout the collection; the speaker often references other poets, writers, and even rap musicians by name, but the influence of these artists is evident in Francisco’s stylistic and formal choices, as well.
What makes Francisco’s speaker so appealing is the way he views connection with poets the same as connection with real-life people in his life. Francisco’s speaker never lets the reader forget that he is, has been, poor, and that he is still a full, vibrant person.
The poems in All My Heroes Are Broke are about broken heroes, broken natures, and broken homes — but I recall a line from James Wright's "The Accusation": "I loved your face because your face/was broken. When my hands were heavy,/You kissed me only in a darkness/To make me daydream you were lovely."