first published in misfitmagazine.net
Todd Cirillo, Disposable Darlings, Roadside Press, distributed by Magical Jeep Distribution and available on Amazon, 2024, 84 pages, $15
Reading Cirillo put me in mind of working in the neighborhood bar and hanging out with the regulars. When I dedicate a book, as I often have, “to the regulars as they made life bearable and you know who you are,” these dedications were not idle or facetious gestures. Over 25 years I worked the last bar, regulars saved my butt, made me laugh, never failed to tip, bought me drinks when I was drinking, hung out, and provided moral support when I needed it. While Todd was not literally one of those guys, I can see him as simpatico, as a guy who would have been someone you could shoot the shit with, talk sports, or writing, or just about anything else that came to mind. Needless to say, his poems have the same kind of easy, vernacular feel to them. None of these are overly literary or self-conscious in a way that makes you feel like you are being talked down to. When he references himself, it’s as much to make you laugh along with him or share his pain. In short, Cirillo is a regular guy and that his high praise where I come from.
Disposable Darlings by Todd Cirillo is available here https://www.magicaljeep.com/product/darlings/158
