“Denim Dashboard Blues,” the new book of poetry from local writer David Fleming Dauterive, is not a collection of traditional verse pieces like those of T.S. Eliot or Derek Walcott.

Dauterive is not a fancy poet of heavy verse but something more approaching down-home, southern rock. In many regards, Dauterive is a rock ‘n’ roll poet – less Dylan and more Springsteen – writing popular culture ditties about girlfriends, deceased fathers and life in America.

Much of his writing is autobiographical – either personal reflections upon tidbits of mundane life or diatribes against the self, in the form of therapeutic rhymes. As the name implies, these are the blues, as conceived by a regular individual, whose life is not devoted to poetry, a regular jean-wearing type of guy.

The poems collected in this book were, according to the author, all written or conceived while driving from Louisiana to Georgia on I-10.

That little bit of information alone tells the story of these poems, as they reflect, to a large extent, the experience of driving and living in the more secluded areas of the South. However, the South as represented here is not a desolate backwater area like you would see in Hollywood films but rather the down-home, casual appearance of a local boy.

“The Buckhead Blond” describes a humorous experience in Georgia with local drunks and trendy women. The titular poem uses a driving metaphor for living in the South, in particular, being pulled over for speeding.

The act of driving and the interaction with other drivers is a constant metaphor throughout the book. Such mundane rhymes and rock ‘n’ roll lyrics remind the reader of driving down a stretch of highway in the middle of the night with the radio turned full blast, watching the environment around you.

Poems such as “La. Woman” and “Roadside Recliner” reflect these sentiments very well, with the latter also using a bluesy wordplay with sexual allusions.

Using a very interesting style, Dauterive also includes numerous two-line phrases, reminiscent of bumper stickers, at the bottom of most pages. The first one, which also reflects the entire idea of Dauterive’s poetry, reads “America’s attention is short – / Publish poetry on bumper stickers!”

To a very large extent, that is what the author accomplishes and with a moderate degree of success. These poems are not epics or dramatic monologues or even limericks but rather the pulse of southern American sentiment and expression in a very modern society. It is not great poetry, but it is entertaining and succinct, just like a bumper sticker should be.

There are, however, moments of genuine poetic ability. The best poem of the collection “On Crochet Road” is a poignant and skillful poem about his high school class, dedicated to a person whose real-life murder inspired “Dead Man Walking.” The poem not only utilizes the driving theme but also the blues, the South and the road as metaphors for life.

Also included within the collection are graphic designs of photographs accompanied by clever phrases or smarmy advertisements, all reflecting some aspect of highway behavior. They serve well as visual complements to the poetry but are nothing more than cute pictures.

Overall, the book is a fun, entertaining, attractive collection of writing for people interested in rock ‘n’ roll poetry from a local author.

This is rock ‘n’ roll not Shakespeare, so if you are interested in deep, innovative and skillful poetry, then this collection is not recommended.

Jason Bolte can be reached at [email protected].