Collection kicks with 'X' poetry

Generation X Poetry: In Our Own Words

MW Enterprises

We are Generation X. Each one of us is a member of generation labeled by two crossing lines. Yet we are not one and the same. Each one of us has a voice and something valid to say. Such is what Marlow Peerse Weaver set out to prove when she invited those born from 1961 to 1982 to submit poetry representative of themselves. The result is an eclectic mix of poetry collected in one volume, "Generation X Poetry: In Our Own Words."

Most generation Xers loath being labeled by such a term, and that is precisely why Weaver took on such a large project. "Generation X Poetry" elucidates the multifaceted nature of a people labeled by a solitary X. As the people who constitute this generation are diverse in background and emotion, so are the poems included in the collection. The subjects of the poems range from what it feels like to be locked in this generation, to sex, drugs and death. There is no central theme to the book, which serves to produce an all-encompassing collection to which people of all generations can relate.

Perhaps not surprisingly, two of the 180 featured poets in the book are University of Michigan students; no other university or college can boast such an achievement.

Weaver expresses her intent of the book. She writes, "This book is an honest reflection of a huge patchwork identifying the diversity of that generation, your generation, the generation of the University of Michigan student body."

The book is stirring a bit of controversy, but to those who are all too familiar with being a piece of the patchwork, it is less than shocking. While the majority of the poems are substantial, being that we are a part of the generation they represent, the emotions are those we own.

The quality of the poems ranges from superior to less than mediocre. But one aspect remains constant: the ring of honesty throughout. While the poems encompass moods of joy, anger and sarcasm, the human quality is ever present. The book is particularly poignant for precisely this reason. Generation Xers are not merely automatons, feeling emotions dictated by another, more insipid generation. Rather, the collection proves that those who comprise this generation are as extremely individualistic as the label is conformist.

If nothing else, the collection conveys the ever present, ever growing rift between the generation Xers and the Baby boomers. The self-loathing of a conventional generation is manifested in its constant criticism of a soul searching generation. This collection certainly displays the potential of a more-than-capable group of people.

For those searching for their souls lost to a vacant generation, this book will certainly offer no solace. But, for one merely searching for some light entertainment and some enjoyable poetry, as a generation Xer, this book offers those sentiments, in our own words.

- Corinne Schneider

11-09-99