Randolph Bridgeman  

Review of the Odd Testament by John Murphy, The Lake Contemporary Webzine United Kingdom:

 

In 1893 an American historian, one Frederick Jackson Turner, wrote a paper explaining tha the American frontier had been the most imortant factor in shaping the character and uniqueness of the American people and that the frontier was now closed forever. With the defeat and removal of Native Americans onto reservations and settlement of the Great Plains westwards also meant that the wild west was finished. The twentieth centrury saw America move into new social technological challenges: The Wright brothers made the first powered flight; Henery Ford introduced the Model T; genuine Wild West legends Buffalo Bill Cody and Wyatt Earp appeared in early cowboy silent movies. There is though, a big "however". That character and uniqueness has deep roots in American society and also in the Constitution, i.e., the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, which still impacts on American society.

 

But what has all this got to do with reading Randolph Bridgeman's latest book? Well, reading his poems one could be forgiven for thinking that the Wild West is not exactly alive and kicking but working towards closure and not making a great success of it. This aspect of American culture is hinted at in "why i don't own a gun". The speaker buys a slingshot to get rid of a troublesome squirrel, "to whack/this little son of a bitch". Out of irritation with his neighbours he ends up shooting at his neighbour's dog, a new jagura car, his neighbour's garden gnomes and the mailman. The poem and the title refer ironically to "going postal", where postal workers committed mass shootings. And this all comes back to individual rights but in so far as one can talk about the rights of the individual, Bridgeman's poems are full of that American archetype, the Emersonian figure, the simple genuine self against the whole world. Bridgeman's archetype is, paradoxically, Adamic in his lowlife, illustrating a vital curltural stereotype revelling in beer, cars, guns and the list of images related to this aspect of American culture: Country music-loving rednecks, trailer trash, high school dropouts, damaged Vietnam vets.

 

Reading the poems it is clear Bridgeman is influenced by Bukowski, the "laureate of American lowlife". Not only are Bridgeman's themes influenced by lowlife but there is a laid back, Bukowski-like delivery in these poems.....with a folksy wisdom which can be not only direct and confrontational but harsh and cutting .....It's a kind of folksy, gossipy way of telling stories and anecdotes that adds to the humour and is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. But this book is not just about lowlifes. There are also tender moments such as when the poet stands over his father's grave or when he observes the carefree nature of childhood

 

Overall, the book is full of colourful, plain speaking characters. It's this and the way Bridgeman tells his stories and the humour that make this book such an entertaining read.