SOURCE: Wakoski, Diane. “A Satirist in the Avant-Garde.” Parnassus 1, no. 1 (fall-winter 1972): 148-51.

In the following review of the 1971 version of The Tablets, American poet Diane Wakoski praises the work's satire and suggests that Schwerner's poetic language is showcased more completely in performance than in print.

This book is easy to pass by and not initially understand either its excellence or importance. Why? Because The Tablets by Armand Schwerner is one of the first excursions into real oral poetry that the twentieth century has produced. Its full effect comes from the oral presentation, not from the printed page.

The poem on the page is analogous to a score for a piece of music; one performs or listens for pleasure, studies only for analysis. All poems sound better when read aloud. The Tablets is even more of a play script than a musical score. Anyone who has heard the magnificent...