Guest Review: Infidelis by Vincent Cooper

Review: Vincent P. Cooper. Infidelis. 
                    MouthFeel Press October 2023, 79 pages, $16 

Rey M. Rodríguez

 

 “Infidelis,” written by Vincent Cooper (link) employs poetry for its most noble purpose – to lift up Chicano voices and those who are often the first to go to war. At a moment when conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East harken back to World War II because of their potential contagion to larger, multinational dangers, Cooper’s book reminds us of the cost of resorting to violence to resolve disputes at a societal and personal level. 

 

I was drawn to this book because, although I did not live this experience, my brother did and countless other Chicanos who wrestled with the decision to sign up for service. With the flick of a pen marking a commitment to the military their life’s trajectory dramatically shifted, and not always for the better. Sometimes the need to escape poverty or a small town served as the reason for this momentous decision and other times who knows what is going through the mind of an 18 year old. In Cooper’s case, it was a girlfriend. He writes in his poem, “Then: The Ultimatum”: 

I had fallen in love with Carmen, who worked with me

at the downtown Marriott. I was a pool boy in aqua/khaki

and didn’t have the balls to tell this teary Chicana in the car, 

that I wanted to leave her. 

I stare at her hard. 

 

I pulled the door handle, 

bolted out of the driver’s seat of her father’s ivory Sedan De Ville 

and joined the United States Marines Corps. 

 

 The reader might think this is a laughable reason to base such an important decision, but to so many teenagers, boys and girls, who do not have a caring adult to serve as a sounding board, then this reason is as good as any other. 

 

 Cooper’s ability to draw us into his poetry with stark honesty runs throughout the book. A perfect example is, “Phone Booth.” 

 

J: Hello . . . What’s up babe . . . you okay? 

V: I fucken cheated . . . I cheated on you. I am sorry. I’m so sorry. 

J: Who was it? 

V: Some girl. I don’t know her. 

 

Dial tone. 

 

This poem, on its face, supports the reason for the title of the book, “Infidelis,” which means in Latin “not faithful.” But Cooper’s book goes beyond the infidelity of a young man towards a woman. His poems suggest this word also refers to the infidelity of a democracy to its citizens, especially Brown and Black people, when it calls them to military service or to fight a war. In “Chicano During Wartime,” he writes: 

 

Afghanistan was not a war at first. 

It was a business proposition. 

Contracts, chess, checkers, choices, Cheney 

—everyone wanted in. 

 

Already there was infidelity to the country’s aspiration to equality as inscribed in the U.S. constitution when Mexican-Americans returned home from service after World War II, such as Cleto Rodríguez, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman to become the first Mexican American in the Pacific theater of operations to receive the nation’s highest military award, only to be treated as a second class citizen. But if this infidelity was not enough, then the pain faced by Chicano veterans returning from Vietnam certainly did the trick. In “The Chicano Hero,” Cooper writes: 

 

Hippies of the sixties protesting the war 

keep “baby killer” in their mouths, 

tight like the clothes in your seabag. 

 

 You strut on through. 

 

 The cab driver is one of the few to say 

“Thank you for your service.” 

You don’t remember his name. 

 

 At home, on the westside of San Antonio, 

no welcome party, 

just Dad watching T.V., 

no friends on the front lawn waiting with a beer 

 

 . . . Nothing 

 

“Infidelis” is a Chicano perspective, but it is also a universal U.S. story. One where the newly-arrived immigrant and marginalized people are used as fodder to fight often unnecessary conflicts for a government and a country that finds them expendable and less than citizens. It is for this reason that “Infidelis” is such a relevant and vibrant poetry book that should be widely read. “Infidelis”offers the reader a counter-narrative to a view of military service held by a majority, seemingly color blind, because Cooper shows how ultimately racist the Corps is in practice. 

 

If the United States is deciding to enter another ethically unsupportable war, maybe, just maybe, policymakers will be confronted by the human cost brought to light by these poems and other nonviolent voices. 

 

At the very least, some Chicano from San Antonio, or anyone else who is trying to avoid breaking up with his girlfriend by enlisting to become a Marine, may read this book of poetry and change his mind. 

 

I believe that art saves lives and “Infidelis” in the right hands definitely has the power to do so given how accessible and honestly Cooper writes. 

 

 Meet la Bloga's Guest Reviewer: Rey M. Rodríguez

Rey is a writer, advocate and attorney, who lives in Pasadena, CA.  He is currently working on a novel set in Mexico City and the Mayan Underworld and a nonfiction book on Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores
Mission, a nonprofit serving the immigrant community of Boyle Heights for over 30 years.