The Blondes Lay Content

by Tony R. Rodriguez

A Book Review
by Tony R. Rodriguez
The Blondes Lay Content by Lisa Zaran,
Lulu Press, 2006, paperback, $15.59

“My heart swings like a pendulum.”
—Lisa Zaran


I first came across the works of Lisa Zaran back in the summer of 2004. I stumbled onto The Rose and Thorn, a website that publishes an e-zine spotlighting great works of fiction, poetry, essays and other literary works. Although I was greatly impressed with the other works published in The Rose and Thorn summer issue, I wanted to continue my web surfing and become exposed to more e-zines. However, I decided to read just one more piece from The Rose and Thorn before I moved on. It seemed by chance I read Lisa Zaran’s poem “Talking To My Father Whose Ashes Sit In A Closet And Listen”. I was instantly moved. I was somber. I was enlightened. I was slightly horrified. And then—quite mystically—I was put at gentle ease. My next reaction was to put aside my web search for more e-zines and do some research to figure out more of this Lisa Zaran. So I Googled her. The results were webpage after webpage. Zaran’s poetry and essays and memoir confessionals appeared everywhere. I read her works for quite some time. It was then in the summer of 2004 that I became a fan.Two years later Lisa Zaran publishes The Blondes Lay Content. Here we find, in my opinion, Zaran hammering out her most deep and inspiring pieces. With hauntingly serene poems like “Talking To My Father Whose Ashes Sit In A Closet And Listen,” “Each Raindrop Is An Ending,” and “Kiss Me, I’m Dying”, Zaran isn’t afraid to let her readers know that life sometimes slings the worst at you, and courageously all you can do is sit there and face your perils with a smile that says “Fuck that! I’m stronger than this.”

Being the hip writer that she is, Zaran also composes many poems with a brazen tongue. The piece “Buy Me Some Truth Before You Buy Me Another Drink” allows the reader to embody what it must feel like to be a female in bar who’s lamentably listening to the dribbled, self-centered dialogue of a womanizing male bent on “one thing”. The poem closes with the obvious reaction of any annoyed female—the narrator flings a drink in the guy’s face—but with Zaran, her flair and poetically potent emotions target the reader to revisit the cliché reaction and come to terms that Zaran’s version of tossing a drink in the guy’s face was by far the best told. Zaran knows how to be realistic with her pieces, but she also knows how to make those life scenes be so much more than they really are—something not easy for all writers to accomplish.

On the spiritual and tender side of The Blondes Lay Content, Zaran is relentless with her quill. Zaran sings her poems of reflection and salvation, infatuation and deep adoration. “Always” is a poem where Zaran administers her insight toward the spiritually unknown, the yearning of mankind for answers to questions about miracles and man’s purpose in this dubious world. In her piece “Once Again, Romance Manages To Win The Upper Hand”, Zaran confesses that the power of love is so much more than we’ll ever know. We should embrace these feelings and allow our hearts and minds to relish in such intoxicating emotions.

The heart of Lisa Zaran is truly a pendulum. It’s raw, yet inspiringly divine. It’s sharp and alarming, yet hypnotically blessed. It’s disturbingly clever, yet selflessly honest. Her words are mystic and dear and her book proves it. Google the name “Lisa Zaran”. Read her book. I’ve come to the certainty that Zaran hits her readers with a stellar collection of modern incantations. Full of feeling and gorgeous pedagogy, her works illuminate and mesmerize both readers and writers alike. Zaran’s honest voice delivers a montage of events rich in charm and celebration. Here is an impressive litany of the human spirit, a gathering of intimate joy for all existence. It’s a collection of poetry to be celebrated and studied. Take notes. Zaran is the poet this generation has been waiting for—a true advocate of recording life with all its wonder, all its glory and all its uncertainty. This book confirms the truth that The Blondes Lay Content.
 

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