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“
Living is an erratic interval between
two points that do not exist.”
-
page 110
This book is so refreshing in
its stark, bloodied honesty. Jay
does not set himself up as a hero.
Not at all. There’s no posturing.
There’s no macho horseshit. He
comes across as flawed, lonely
and yearning – in short, he comes
across as a human. Especially
poignant are his remembrance of
youth, which includes watching
his parent’s marriage dissolve,
something I remember well. Jay
was the youngest of three broth-
ers, and it almost felt like as soon
as they all went off to school, his
parents felt like their familial
work was done so they went their
own ways as well. Of course,
that’s flippant and not at all what
happened – but it felt that way.
“
We never arrive, we’re in a continu-
ous transit or we do arrive but only
at death.”
-
page 136
If I had to distill the essence
of “Wedlocked” I would say
it an insightful philosophical
treatise on the concepts of “love”
and “marriage.” Can you have
intimate, personal relationships
that are free of desire? Is there
something in us that’s always
searching out new love? And,
most importantly, does love
always have to decay? I think Jay
himself best sums it up when he
writes that this book is “my state
of mind lost inside an American
marriage” – and he’s not afraid to
admit he’s still lost in many ways.
And that’s what makes “Wed-
locked” fascinating reading, even
if you aren’t old friends with the
writer.
AUTHOR DETAILS:
Jay Ponteri directs the under-
graduate creative writing pro-
gram and Show:Tell, the Work-
shop for Teen Writers & Artists,
both at Marylhurst University.
His work has been published
recently in Forklift, Ohio, Del Sol
Review, Salamander, Puerto Del
Sol, and Tin House, among oth-
ers. His essay “Listen to this” was
mentioned as a Notable Essay in
Best American Essays 2010. He
lives in Portland, Ore., with his
wife, son, and two pugs.
