Billy Cancel

Reading MOCK TROUGH RASPING CROW I was captivated in much the same way as when I watched billy cancel perform, though the masks & at times flamboyant costumes were missing I was caught up in the language, dark humor, magic & surreal screwball imagery. This is 1 of those rare instances where performance poetry transfer perfectly from page to stage & vice-versa so “don’t let your attention wander” as cancel puts it, MTRC is about “everything at once / or something all the time.” Grab it, crack it open & try, if you dare, to figure it out. —Steve Dalachinsky