Hustle

February 24, 2014
“Memory is a fist to the eye” in Martinez’s debut collection, which depicts a family where “violence is the oldest inheritance,” and a coming-of-age in which the speaker “died/ into silent manhood/…spoke in the twist/ of fingers to gang signs.” From an alcoholic grandfather and a father for whom “life was work. For him, everything was hard,” the speaker remembers himself as a boy who “dreamed of sleeping/ perfectly still—/ a macho’s rest;/ muggers, murderers, and fathers,” and a teenager who “wanted so badly to go to prison/ wanted my stripes and the respect of teens.” Questions of masculinity and power run throughout, and the poems feel simultaneously intimate and spectacular as the voice strikes registers of vulnerability and bravado. For all the narratives of strife the collection contains, Martinez’s poetics are anything but grim. Rather, there is a delight in language play and a lexicon that spans slang to theory. From the remove of poetry, Martinez brings clarity to the chaotic world of his youth, observing “before an alpha, before the first word or a god/ there was a riot of silence to be banded and named,” and brings urgency to the language, asking, “Where is the window to break/ in your life?”

June 1, 2014

If you're hustling in America, you're either moving quickly or doing whatever you must do to survive. This debut by Martinez reveals a young poet who combines the kinesthetic energy of swift movement with the quick anticipation of one whose continued survival depends largely on his ability to act. The book relies heavily on authorial persona, with its poems written irreverently and mostly in the first person. It values what is close at hand, and, much like a hustler, its concerns are local and immediate. As one reads, one becomes aware of the world becoming almost unbearably small: Martinez embarks on a nickel tour of San Diego in the summer of 1994 and introduces us to friends with memorable nicknames, all while exhibiting a confidence that is as essential to survival as the ability to think quickly. VERDICT This first collection serves youth, and, as with many such books, this reviewer is curious to know what Martinez's poetry might look like once the summer of 1994 is as stale as the summer of 1969, and awaits with interest the kind of world Martinez writes once school is out for good.--Chris Pusateri, Jefferson Cty. P.L., Lakewood, CO

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
In his debut poetry collection, Martinez translates the unique nature of his autobiography with an acute ear for rhythm, transporting readers from barrio alleyways to the shipyards of San Diego to the halls of Houston academia, broaching such topics as young fatherhood, gang life, and stereotypical masculinity with refreshing candor and linguistic savvy. In the same breath, Martinez allows his poetic speakers to address adolescent slap boxing and Mayan athleticism, rare-book collecting and small-time drug dealing. By turns acoustically playful ( the kicking of her feet / makes the splayed sheets shake ) and profoundly honest ( childhood is a form of taxidermy ), Martinez creates a hybrid universe in which T. S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson drink malt liquor. From the tattoos of gangbanging brothers to the spiked fruit of canyon cacti, Martinez revels in the extraordinary contradictions that arise when poetry arrives stomping, chanting, and slinging urban grit against the polished facade of the ivory tower. A necessary addition to Chicano, Latino, and American poetry alongside writers Rodney Gomez, Laurie Ann Guerrero, and Rosebud Ben-Oni.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)