Grand Gnostic Central and Other Poems

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta and a
poet. He is the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

Bryan Sentes has collected 10 years’ worth of work in this book, which
may account for his impressive variety. The poems deal with subjects
ranging from philosophy to UFOs. The descriptive urge is too strong in
the lengthy opening poem, “At Red River’s Edge,” but his work is
usually concise and quick-moving, sure of its footing. The longest work,
“The Budapest Suites,” shows a good variety in tone and style,
redeeming it from the travel-diary form that appears too often in
contemporary poetry. The best poem in the book is probably “Gnarled
Box,” which plays on many senses of the noun “box” and creates
numerous surprises. “Holy Crow Channels LW,” a tribute to Ludwig
Wittgenstein, is a subtle look at the great philosopher’s thought and
passion for clarity in the great philosopher. “Grand Gnostic
Central,” another poem based on Wittgenstein, gives a strong sense of
the mind’s quest for transcendental meaning in the particulars of
experience. Sentes is a mature artist with serious things to say.