He's not bound by a specific style, and is thus allowed some artistic breathing room despite his narrow subject. Charlie Chaplin (pictured in 1921 as The Tramp) thought the moustache gave him a comical appearance. No longer is it something that inspires rage and fear but it becomes the subject of the abstract and surreal.ĭavis' poems range from absolutely hilarious to almost disturbing and his willingness to experiment with multiple styles of poetry makes this collection diverse and entertaining. He uses the well-known and inflammatory image of Hitler (and, of course, his mustache) in every poem until the image loses its power. After the list-style poem mentioned above, Davis explores a majority of poetic styles, from sestinas to prose poetry. No longer is it something that inspi Unsure of what to expect, I opened Peter Davis' collection of poems only to be faced with the poem "Hitler's Mustache (The intersection of fashion and fascism): The List of Facts" and I immediately fell in love. Unsure of what to expect, I opened Peter Davis' collection of poems only to be faced with the poem "Hitler's Mustache (The intersection of fashion and fascism): The List of Facts" and I immediately fell in love. So I took it to one of the used bookstores in town and placed it on the shelves, hoping someone drawn to the book would find it and then be pleasantly surprised when the bookstore sold it to them inexpensively, what with it not being in their computer.Īs of last week, however, it was still there.more I tried to think of someone other than the person who suggested it who might enjoy the work, and I couldn't. So much so that I realized I would never read the book again. But the act of reading the collection bored me. There are a few poems in here that, were I to have experienced them individually, or as part of a collection that wasn't comprised only of poems called "Hitler's Mustache (subtitle)", I think I might have enjoyed them. I understand why the person who recommended it to me enjoyed reading it. Hitler's Mustache is relentlessly modernist. His short-lived biker stache still went on to inspire a generation of porn extras, and for that we say, 'Thank you' 13 of 20. It's an act of faith that has worked out almost every time. Michael Jordan, The Hitler Jordan was either. There are a few poems in here that, w One of the drawbacks of the poetry interaction project was that I often purchased whatever people suggested without even flipping through the book before I spent money on it. It's an act of faith that has worked out almost every time. One of the drawbacks of the poetry interaction project was that I often purchased whatever people suggested without even flipping through the book before I spent money on it.