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A intesting poetic and photographic project exploring heritiage, community and the individual.
Maverick is an interdisciplinary art project built around the thesis of agency under two central motifs: language as architecture and personal as political. Set against photographs of the east side of San Antonio, Texas, Maverick utilizes poetry and photojournalism to explore the notion of gentrification of the mind; the metaphysical and metaphorical experiences of displacement, anxiety, consciousness, and reclamation.
Maverick by Fernando Rover Jr. blends poetic and photographic storytelling to create a strong sense of place, belonging and reclamation. While the calibre of poetry wanes in the second half, it is still possible to appreciate Rover Jr’s skill at capturing place and self-portraits.
Split into three sections (Awakening, Reckoning and Embodying), Awakening is the most powerful and most polished. The choral quality of the poems in Awakening, like ‘My Neighborhood, My Village’ and ‘Revolutionary Child’ create an immediate sense of community. A community continually wronged by the USA’s power- and money-hungry plutocracy — characterised by a legacy of European imperialism and the West’s dependency on capitalism. Lines such as 'for you are your ancestor's wildest dream' and 'And this land will always be stolen until all of us are free' inspire hope, a fierce desire for change, and are the very breath of Maverick and what Rover Jr. intends to explore and comment upon.
The choice to have every photograph in black and white sends a provocative message too as it poses the question of it a future of freedom really is as complex as many would have us believe.
As the collection progressed, I personally felt the poems began to lack original imagery as they relied heavily on images we all know and overuse when beginning our craft. This was a disappointing contrast to how the collection opened — Rover Jr. attempted to explore several facets of community and the self and the quality suffered somewhat.
I did, however, enjoy the several self-portraits in this collection. The overlay of other photographs over the face was a beautifully poignant choice and complemented the creator's statement of 'the personal as political'. The erasure of the creator's statement at the end was also very clever.
Thus, I believe Maverick is worth reading — more so as a project and as social commentary on the world we live in and how it continues to punish marginalised communities, simply for existing.
Reviewed by
I am a writer and freelance editor/proofreader based in the UK. I have self-published two poetry collections (Between the Trees and Flowers on the Wall). I enjoy reviewing poetry, short stories, literary fiction and historical fiction. I am the Editor-in-Chief for Free Verse Revolution magazine.
Synopsis
Maverick is an interdisciplinary art project built around the thesis of agency under two central motifs: language as architecture and personal as political. Set against photographs of the east side of San Antonio, Texas, Maverick utilizes poetry and photojournalism to explore the notion of gentrification of the mind; the metaphysical and metaphorical experiences of displacement, anxiety, consciousness, and reclamation.
About the author
Fernando Rover Jr. is a San Antonio based author. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and history from Texas Lutheran University and a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Prescott College. He is an author of three books. view profile
Published on March 20, 2022
Published by Frame Reference Media
1000 words
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by
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