Tim Kahl’s 4th book, Omnishambles, is a collection of pieces that are composed in the style of what he calls “recombinants.” They are short segments and images gleaned from The Sacramento Bee and mixed together with frequent flights of fancy that reveal themselves in short headline-like bursts. Imagine an army of news fragment proteins penetrating the cell membrane where William Carlos Williams’s Imaginations lies waiting to be switched on in the nucleus. It’s hard to tell where the real produces the surreal and vice versa. On top of this is a soundtrack that cuts through many different styles from around the world using both digital and folk instruments as it serves to break up the compounded absurdity.
“I love everything about this collection on page and on disc. The poems resonated with me personally, socially, aesthetically and sonically where there was associated musical content. Here are some poems that I am simply enthralled with: CATDANCE!, Lucky Troll Statue, Rat Man, and Black Smoke over Vatican.”
—David Tomasovitch
Tears of Empathy
a boneyard of mockers is
known for its sabotage
of morning trumpets with molasses
homeless man fouls entrance
to bigger resort so that
conversations can happen
mediators between breast and
prostate cancers provide
gateways to understanding
tabloid gossip
the smallest device ever created
emerges from the wilderness of ratings
art made from dryer lint
gives gutsy columnist a reason
to upgarde his liquid detergent
barbecue fans upset
splittail extinct
unable to drink
tears of empathy from apes
