Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn is Bold & Honest

Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn is a bold & honest look into a very unusual life.

When people think of poets, they often think of them writing in isolation — alone at a desk, or a holed up in the corner of a dive bar. Maybe that’s way I’ve always gravitated towards books which showcase the work of working poet / poets with day jobs, living life like everyone else we know.

I have fallen hard for books like Jim Daniels’ “Punching Out” (about the poet’s childhood and adulthood living a car factory town), or most recently, “The Complete Poetry of James Hearst” which so beautifully captures decades in the life of a Iowan farmer. There is something profound and grounding about learning about a poet by what they do outside of poetry, and how their job (and the toll it can take) affects their relationships with their lovers, their family, their community and even with themselves.

So imagine my absolutely surprise when I realized that Amber Tamblyn’s latest book, “Bang Ditto,” absolutely falls into this favorite category of “books by a worker poets.” Sure, her job may be unorthodox (Hollywood actor), but it nonetheless pushes and pulls at her, inside and out, like any other job would.

Sometimes this theme is obvious — like in “Learning To Trust Legs”, where she talked about being mistaken for a real prostitute when she was only playing one on a live set, or “Role Research” where she talks about stomaching the graphic images & stories she was exposed to while researching her role as cop. Other times, this theme takes a more surreal tone — like in “Fell Off” where she feels compelled to defend her actor father Russ Tamblyn from an anonymous commenter on IMBD, or in poems like “Dear Demographic” and “My Face” where she bluntly confronts the public perception of what / who she is supposed to represent. Other times, the theme is more hidden — as when she writes about her extensive travels which pull her away from those she loves, or the affection-plump poems dedicated to those same much-adored people.

Tamblyn’s poetry allows us a deep & nuanced insight into her life and the lives of those around, and she further gilds the lily with envy-inducing wordplay: “It’s Hard To Face Your Problems When the Problem is Your Face” she announces in one poem; “My heart was a wave / that broke for you” she slides into another.

This is a bold and teeming second book for a young poet still in her 20s, and Tamblyn is another wonderful addition to Manic D Press’s eclectic and refreshing stable of writers.

Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn is available today with a 32% discount.