Phillips, Robert (Schaeffer) - G. E. Murray
G. E. MURRAY
Running on Empty takes a significantly different direction from that set forth in earlier work, notably The Pregnant Man. There Phillips displayed an appetite for literary decorum. Erudite, polished, technically accomplished, those poems seemed not as fine as the craftsmanship that formed them. Happily, this new work, taken in its breadth, achieves a greater emotional consistency by relinquishing some of composition's ornament.
It also should be noted that Phillips' new title is derived from pop composer Jackson Browne's upbeat California country-rock anthem. It should be further clarified that Phillips' patient causes strike no relationship to Browne's pulsating lyrics, and indeed are about as trendy as a hoola-hoop. What does emerge at first inspection from Phillips' borrowed title is a tentative and occasionally clumsy performance—one seemingly predisposed to dabbling in minor events or "bluffing our way / through Kool-Aid...
[The entire page is 484 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
