DAVID R. SURETTE, Tonic. Westbrook, ME: Moon Pie Press, 2024. ISBN: 9798986912325

review by Christine Jones

Vladimir Nabokov wrote that “the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes.” In his latest book, Tonic, poet David R. Surette takes memories from grade school to middle-age and bestows them with his sly sense of humor and his love, rendering them both vivid and, yes, strange. Strange in the best sense: the way memories are stored in our psyches, and they shapeshift to meet our intrinsic need to remember fondly, to forgive, and in Surette’s collection, to carefully examine a life well-lived. 

Tonic is a collection of traditional free verse poems mostly in the first person. (The two poems that are the most distinct in terms of form are both about the poet’s wife: “Martha’s Vineyard Hospital,”reminiscent of a sonnet for its seven couplets, and “Kathy,” a haiku-like three-line poem.) Effectively, every poem in the book takes up only one page, as if each page holds a snapshot in Surette’s photo album. The collection opens with, “5th Grade Yearbook,” which sets the tone, particularly with the word ‘yearbook’ in its title.  Beginning with the reminiscence of his years at the Immaculate Conception School in his hometown of Malden, MA, Surette reels the reader in with remembrances of class superlatives. He was named “Most Popular” (tied with Tommy Cronin), while the Carberry boys were “ordained to be loan sharks or garbage collectors” and Joanne Breen a “go-go dancer.” The poem prepares the reader for an autobiographical read with the last three lines: “I didn’t grow to be a historian, / unless you count my endless / desire to spill my own.” 

Surette’s tone is wry and gentle, and his lyric narratives manage to evoke within the reader an oddly comforting sense of familiarity. Other evocative poems include “Freshman Boy,” which delves into the gawkiness  and uncertainty of adolescence; the speaker is “a sanctimonious little shit.”  “Hand Me Downs,” as the title might suggest, carries the weight of a father/son relationship, while “Worry” is steeped in loss, the “darkness” worn around the speaker’s “heart” another inheritance from his father. 

But while many poems are curious and vulnerable, it is Surette’s humor that characterizes his work. I couldn’t help but conjure an image of the author as a comedian, albeit a sensitive and reflective one. Even if his tone at times is detached, it’s generous, as in “After Visiting My Mother,” which opens with a detailed scene:

                              I was on my way home,

going about fifty on Route 28

Falmouth to Yarmouth

                              when I spied it, black and white

by the side of the road.

                                 I passed. Its tail flapped.

                                     Was it a last wag or a call for help?

The speaker doubles back to attempt a rescue, only to discover, “It was a black and white couch / cushion lying on its side,” and to land on a note of self-deprecating humor:

                                    Maybe this is another symptom

                                    of growing old, to spend my days

                                    tilting at couch cushions.

One of the collection’s greatest strengths is Surette’s ability to find truth and comedy in the mundane, sometimes transforming ordinary moments into something transcendent. In “Two Wheelers” the speaker bumps into an old classmate’s sister while teaching his kids to ride bikes at his old elementary school. His question, “How’s Joe been?” reveals that the classmate has “done time” but is “doing better.” The added detail of the high school biology teacher, Mr. Ahmrein, predicting Joe’s “jail time” gives us a glimpse of fatalism that feels like a punchline. This prompts him to thoughtfully turn to his own children with a sense of precarity:

                                    I smiled and watched the kids crisscross in the thrill

                                     of the balance of two wheels, speed, and freedom,

                         the terror of tarmac below them.

Surette’s poems are unapologetically self-indulgent yet inviting, bringing the reader to his kitchen table, his classroom, or the ice rink. He gives the reader glimpses of his life from various vantage points, and our curiosity remains piqued from poem to poem. Surette’s ability to imbue each poem with his distinct, dead-pan voice means we never lose sight of who the speaker is, and we can settle into this collection as if we’re settling into a favorite couch. From the innocence of “Lumpy” to the sorrow in “$1,000” to the exasperation in “Last Parent Meeting,” Surette captures human experience with humility and grace. While there are a few moments where a poem ends too soon (“A Job” and “Old Man Walking”) a quick poem like  “Morning Announcements” brings great comic relief.  Regardless of their backgrounds, many readers will find themselves in Tonic. Surette’s skill at transforming memories into verse provides the chance at connection for all ages and geographies. Who doesn’t remember their fifth-grade yearbook or making out in the hallways of high school? Or falling in love, or losing a parent? Surette evokes our own memories while we cringe, cheer, and cry with him. This is where he shines. 

This is a story of a kid from Malden who grows up to marry his college sweetheart, become a high school teacher and a father to his “green-eyed girl,” and a poet capable of vulnerability and grace. Surette offers readers a nostalgic journey through the high school hallways and the corridors of the human heart. In this collection, he shares love, guilt, love, loss, and the myriad emotions that define human experience. Whether exploring the awkwardness of youth, the complexities of family dynamics, or reflecting on the passage of time, Tonic, true to its name, is infused with authenticity and compassion that is refreshing and restorative.