McGrath, Campbell. “The Golden Angel Pancake House.” Spring Comes to Chicago. Hopewell, New Jersey: Ecco Press, 1996. p 5.
I loved this poem. This has got to be one of my favorites read so far this year. It reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song “Carnival” off her 1995 album, Tigerlily. In “Carnival” Natalie pays homage to New York City and I see Campbell McGrath doing the same thing for his hometown of Chicago in “The Golden Angel Pancake House” (which is a real restaurant, by the way). The imagery is amazing. I can just see this group of friends stumbling out of a bar at closing time. It’s way early in the morning and they are prowling the streets looking for a place to eat. The sights and sounds are chaotic and gripping. A freak show.
Favorite line, “a troupe of toothless, dipsomaniacal clowns.”
Reason read: It’s still April and I’m still reading poetry. Obviously.
Author fact: As I mentioned before McGrath is from Chicago.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Kitchen Sink Poetry” (p 139).
~*LunaSea*~ 