Embracing the Devil in New Orleans: A Review of Todd Cirillo’s Disposable Darlings

The poems in Disposable Darlings, New Orleans poet Todd Cirillo’s latest collection from Roadside Press, often deal with lust and love in the streets and bars of New Orleans, and Cirillo is the perfect tour guide. Many of the poems have a strong sense of place, and quickly envelop the reader into their world. Full disclosure – I have spent some hours with Todd drinking in New Orleans bars, and can say firsthand that his poems expertly capture the feel of it:

We spend hungover holidays
on barstool thrones,
where liquor bottles
stand like gods
under Christmas lights
providing us gifts
we didn’t know
we needed.

While the pieces sometimes visit the darker alleys of relationships and barroom lives, by the end they most always find their way back to some semblance of light. The poems never ultimately feel jaded,  always ready to open their hearts up to the joys and sorrows of life once the latest hangover subsides a bit.

These poems are in love with being in love – with people and places, with life itself. A scarce quality present in Cirillo’s poems is the refreshing lack of cynicism and detachment – they are there in the thick of things, unabashedly with hearts on sleeves. Cirillo skillfully manages lines that are genuinely romantic without being saccharine or mawkish:

He kisses the inside
of her left wrist
knowing every spring
he has now
will feel like
her.

Many of the pieces explore the various stages of a relationship – from the awkward beginnings to the often inevitable endings and everything in between, with humor and insight into the human condition. The poems highlight our failings and foibles as humans and partners with empathy, and remind us that even the most fleeting of human interactions leave their mark and are not without meaning. 

When not exploring the complexities of relationships, the poems occasionally take shots at what Cirillo sees as a watered down current poetry scene. He prefers the traditional excesses of poetry, the swagger and style of the devil, bemoaning poetry that only offers “sympathy for mediocrity,” by poets seemingly more interested in social media attention and embracing current trends than in truly creating worthwhile work.

Todd’s voice is a strong and refreshing one, and he is a born storyteller. The collection entertains from start to finish. Climb in the back seat, pop a bottle and enjoy the ride.

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