120. Subway Moon

Poetry, like music, is about movement. Both art forms move from one note, or word, to another, trying to catch the essence of the moment. Saxophonist and composer Roy Nathanson has long worked with both words and music, sometimes uniting the two as he did on Sotto Voce (Aum Fidelity, 2006). Subway Moon, however, represents the first comprehensive overview of Nathanson’s work as a poet.

The work derives much of its fascination from the New York City subway. The poems are written on the trains, while moving from one station to another. Like music, they carry the imprint of improvisation, occasionally referencing jazz musicians, as in the opening poem, „Saxophones“: „Lying together under really old stars / we often tell things that already happened / We hope Billie and Lester / Will rent us rooms that won’t be raided / that their silver spoons will cover our eyes / park the bones of our uniforms.“ / Jakob Baekgaard, All about Jazz

Subway Moon
Roy Nathanson
Soft cover; 134 pages
ISBN 978-3-00-025376-8
Buddy’s Knife
2009