ANATOMY OF A FLAME: THE CRAFT OF TRUTHTELLING

a review by Karina DaSilva

A statue sits lonely upon a desk– a wooden carving of a man, with his hands frozen upon a guitar. It is clearly a cherished memento; old, stained, cracked, and well-loved. In the eyes of most, a cursory glance would interpret the carving as a snapshot of serenity. A snatched up moment of a musician’s creation and cadence.

But in Mauricio Moreno’s poem, ‘guitarrista’, his speaker instead directs us to a different perspective.  The guitar, chipped and faded from years of use, remains unplayed in the hands of the guitarist. The speaker muses that the statue itself is in a liminal state. It exists in an eternal break between sets or in the downtime before a gig. It exists in hesitance, holding onto the remnants of passion that no longer seems to reach him. The guitarist becomes a memory…and becomes a purgatory.

‘Guitarrista’ is an example of what works in Maurcio Moreno’s  Anatomy of a Flame– a rich collection of poems, cataloguing and documenting an inner journey through the visage of fire; blazing at times, stuttering at others. Moreno’s scope is vast, tackling looming intersections of generational trauma, racism and colonization, while also zooming into the personal vulnerabilities within. 

What constitutes good craftsmanship in poetry? An eye for technical precision and efficiency? An adherence to tone and form? These are all important devices in a poet’s toolkit. But ultimately, a poet’s primary objective is the communication of a work’s overarching theme and the thesis that lies within. And because of this, the most powerful instrument in a poet’s toolkit is simply that of vulnerability.

Poets who have a rife and rich mastery of language may sometimes fall into the trap of treating breathtaking imagery as defensive measures, rather than as vehicles for the narrative thread weaving together their pieces. They may use syntax as islands that exist unto themselves; descriptors that, while painting interesting pictures, ultimately detract from the power of the content itself. Alternatively, a poet may use increasingly abstract and nonspecific language to obfuscate the messaging in a piece. In each case, ‘craft’ becomes an excuse to detach from the vulnerabilities of communicative work.

In this collection’s best pieces, Moreno has little such reservations. Indeed, his strength is in his frankness. He shines when his imagery is tied to exploration, and when his metaphors are tied to narrative throughlines that create breathtaking character sketches and environmental analysis. One of Moreno’s first pieces in his collection, called ‘origin of feces’, shocks its reader into attention with a provoking title, and continues to plunge its audience into a meticulous, visceral picture of systemic poverty. Moreno does not allow his readers to look away from his frank yet granular descriptors of people and place— the details offered here are deliberate. They are concrete– littered streets and sewage scraps. They are abstract – ghosts of colonization, silently haunting. But they are also mournful–  of his parents, individuals whose identities became entwined with their survival. Of his own creativity, which at times falls prey to the spectre of doubt. Here, Moreno’s imagery is powerful because it is absolute in its efficiency. It leaves no room for dehumanization.

And make no mistake that Moreno is well-versed with each instrument in his toolkit. A powerful element of this collection is when Moreno flaunts his knowledge of craft. In one of my favorite poems, ‘you must know Pablo Escobar’, Moreno showcases the true power of enjambment as a storytelling tool. Lines tightly coil into themselves, tense with an anxiety and anger that cannot find release. Streams of thought rage and race together. At casual, unassuming racism, unquestioning in its existence. At the unspoken cultural tethers, demanding passivity and discouraging confrontation. At the inevitable internalization of frustration, left in tangled heaps beneath a smile. 

Tethers and throughlines and narrative threads– Moreno is a weaver of words to be sure. At times, the weaving takes a life of its own, when pieces reach a natural finality, but carry on in their cadence. But as Moreno’s words explore the nooks and crannies of his soul, you cannot help but hold onto that guitar. You cannot help but to follow.

About Mauricio Moreno:

Maurico "Soul on Fire" Moreno is an award-winning Author, a first generation Colombian-American artist and writer, originally from Elizabeth, New Jersey. He moved to California to fulfill his life mission of being a writer and sharing his and others’ stories to bring readers closer together and heal the world. His works have been published in Conchas Y Café, Intercultural Press, Resurrection Press, No Tender Fences, Rigorous and he has been featured at several open mic’s throughout Los Angeles. He is currently working on his first novel. When he’s not writing, he can be found in Long Beach donning Hogwarts robes and steampunk goggles, tending to his growing collection of fur babies with his Revolutionary Ravenclaw wife.

Order Anatomy of a Flame by clicking here.

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About our Reviewer:

Karina DaSilva is a writer of Salvadoran and Brazilian descent, currently living in Los Angeles. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a BA in English Literature and in Communications. When not writing poetry, she enjoys creating ink illustrations and celebrating Halloween at least four times a year. She has previously had poetry featured in print and online publications, including plain china and Dead Peasant, and is a recipient of the Mark Van Doren Poetry Prize.