Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars by Mimi German (2022)

Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars

Mimi German

The Poetry Box

Portland, OR

(c) 2022

I need to state upfront in case you didn't know, but I am deeply involved and committed to the study and collection of Beat Generation material. I am a member of several Facebook groups that are about the Beats (some specifically about Burroughs, others focused on Kerouac) and on one of these groups a few months ago now was a review of a book by the poet Mimi German. The review was entitled Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars and the Beat mythology of the supertramp and it appears on the blog of "Karlostheunhappy". 

I read the review and decided at once to get a copy of the book. Once the book arrived I reached out to the poet and found out that she was originally from Philadelphia and that we had a mutual friend. 

The book itself is 37 pages and has a spine so thin no text can appear on the spine. So, it's a chapbook by my reckoning. The book has an interesting history. The Poetry Box edition is actually the second incarnation of the book. It was initially titled Eyes of the Horse Hair and was an honorable mention in the 2020 Hopper Poetry Prize announcement. 

The review by Karlos is far superior to anything I might add, except that I have a correspondence now with the poet/activist in Portland want to praise the work she has accomplished, both on the page and in the community.