Beat To A Pulp by Jason Disley
Firmly set in the period of Pulp and Noir tales of the twentieth century in an unnamed American city -Beat To A Pulp delivers poetry that is full of the jive talk you would expect to read in Hammett, Chandler and Spillane. Its a Beat Poet delivering his version of a Pulp fiction. It's straight from the fridge, and if you've got your boots on you will dig the jive and imagine what happens when the canary sings. There is also a collection of six illustrations created by artist Mark Head -which add to the experience of a poetry collection with a difference.
Jason Disley
ISBN 978-0-244-12855-5
Released: May, 2020
Book, 156 Pages
Print Book: Pocket Book (4.25 x 6.875 in / 108 x 175 mm), Standard Black & White, 60# White, Paperback, Glossy Cover
List Price: GBP 8.99
Reviews:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
For those who think poetry’s not for you put your preconceptions aside and give this novella size book a go. You’ll be surprised by what you find.
‘Beat To A Pulp’ is a verse novel, a genre in where the story is told through poetry instead of prose. Jason Disley is a contemporary Beat poet who has used his love of beat poetry and the noir film and pulp genres to create a fascinating storyline blending them together. The result is a fascinating dark brooding tale revolving round crime boss, Jack Rabbit Blood, his floozie Ruby an ensnared singer dying to leave him, Aldous Beech a police detective and Johnny-on-the-Spot. I don’t want to spoil the narrative. What I will let you know is that we’re led into a period world that harks back to Bogart movies, sleazy clubs, dark hearted gangsters with the ‘doll’ desired by two men. All this wrapped up in forty poems that don’t rely on conventional rhyme but on the impact of free form words and Forties and Fifties street lingo.
Once you get used to reading the narrative you become immersed in the plot and rich use of language. I loved this so different approach and can see this almost like a movie script or dramatic live performance. So forget your reservations - give this a try. You’ll find it rewarding.
John Knight
https://www.zani.co.uk/zani-culture/item/2968-jason-disley-s-beat-to-a-pulp-reviewed-on-zani