Richard M. Risi’s debut The Fragments of Shadow & Sound is a poetry collection that manages to be both easy to read and daringly experimental at points. Comprising five sections, Faultlines, Reflections, Longings, Thresholds, and Ascents, its poems reflect on subjects such as longing, disability, and perhaps most of all, music. The effect is less that of a conventional poetry anthology and more that of a novelette, “a collection of moments” as Risi calls it, pieced together with the skill of a musician and the candour of someone who has lived and learned.
From the outset, Risi sets the tone with striking simplicity. In “Trust/Fragments,” he observes that “Trust is easily broken in so many ways that to mend the broken piece-like fragments, is almost as bad as breaking the trust yourself.” The poem is direct, conversational, and yet subtly powerful in its reflection that apologies rarely totally restore what was lost. A similar meditation appears in “Broken Promises,” where he admits, “That broken promise turned into two and then three, onward. I’m not me you see. I’m a product of this promise— a storm I created.” Beyond a few more obscure choices such as “frangible”, the poems generally feature accessible, stream-of-consciousness language. The poems are furthermore interspersed with abstract pictures and design, showing that a lot of creativity has been put into formatting, which I really enjoyed.
Elsewhere, Risi embraces a somewhat more experimental register. With a beautiful rainbow-styled title, “Color-Crushed Constructs” cascades with alliteration, urging the reader to “collide into color and crash like confetti coated in crimson, a crèche of cerulean.” The sheer density of sound creates a dizzying effect, like verbal improvisation on a jazz theme. Not every reader will respond equally to such pieces, and occasionally, more traditionally structured poems can rely on slightly predictable rhyme schemes. Nevertheless, the overall effect is like getting an intimate look through a very poetic mind at work, the variety of form and topic keeping the collection restless and alive.
Holding a Bachelor’s in music, Risi’s gift for musical imagery is evident throughout. In “Ode to the Practice Room,” he describes the rehearsal space as a “cater-cornered tomb [that] becomes the best place to mourn dissonant melodies, where all the Bachs and Beethovens go to be.” Similarly, in the pretty funny “How To Conduct,” he gives instructions on how to conduct. This would-be conductor should apparently wave a baton like a wizard before snapping it in half, adding a moment of levity that lightens the darker undertones of the surrounding poems.
The Longings section turns toward desire and romantic ache. In “This is Not a Love Poem,” the speaker insists on denial even as he evokes intimacy with the image of “another picture of us, sealed tight, in a golden locket… and the letter you never sent, crumpled in your back pocket.” “Crave” goes further, offering one of the collection’s most sensual moments: “Skin on skin, breath by breath, a cyclical see-saw of inhaling your exhale and exhaling every eclipsis.” The language itself feels breathless.
The final section, Ascents, offers perhaps the most touching poems. In an ode to his grandmother, “Chrysalis” redefines love as people who helped you grow rather than passion, affirming that “They are not the love you chased—but they are the love that carried you.”The Japanese art of kintsugi, which is mentioned in the About the Author Section as a fascination of Risi, is invoked both explicitly and implicitly here. Finally, in “To Fall from the Heights,” love is embraced in all its imperfection: “Falling for every piece of you, every inch of you, every flaw and imperfection, everything that is so unapologetically you.”
What makes The Fragments of Shadow & Sound particularly compelling is its range. Risi is equally capable of producing spare, confessional lines and dense, sonically elaborate experiments. Although I am far from an expert, it might be argued that in some of the poems Risi’s rhyme schemes risk feeling too predictable, and some of the use of alliteration verges on excess, but these are minor quibbles in a work that thrives precisely because of its humble earnestness. The imagery throughout is vivid, the musicality undeniable, and the emotional honesty disarming.
Poetry remains one of the most difficult genres to successfully bring into print in modern times, especially in the self-publishing sphere, where it is often dismissed as hard to sell or too niche. Risi’s achievement, therefore, is a collection that is both experimental and accessible, and undoubtedly a piece of genuine personal expression. At 174 pages, The Fragments of Shadow & Sound is the ideal read for fans of Ocean Vuong and Kaveh Akbar. For readers seeking beautiful poetry that takes risks without abandoning accessibility, it comes highly recommended.
Verdict: Drawing on the spirit of kintsugi and E. E. Cummings, Risi’s poems are accessible yet at times experimental with lots of heart behind them, making this book an easy recommendation for any fans of contemporary poetry.
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