Week 18 - Yakov Wahnich - Pick-A-Poet “The Oil and Incense Man”

As a quick recap: my poet is named Kevin Coval, a Jewish writer and producer  from the heart of Chicago. He feels a deep connection to his roots in Chicago, as well as his Jewish heritage in Eastern Europe, and he reflects on his connection through his poetry. 

In this poem “The Oil and Incense Man,” Coval describes a Chicago salesman at the corner store he observes nearby. He may just be a simple salesman of scents and incense, but Coval glorifies him like a superhero. In fact, the poet uses descriptive, colorful, energetic language to depict this salesman as the Rambo of incense. 

This specific poem has less social commentary and depth compared to Coval’s other poems, at least at first glance. When you read into the Coval’s underlying message here, I think there can be one main takeaway from this poem. As this salesman is glorified by Coval, it’s safe to assume that his store is quite popular in the nearby neighborhoods of Chicago - Coval mentions that “you could smell [his oils] from three blocks away.” I think Coval is outlining how this salesman is contributing to the community around him. While he’s just a humble scent salesman, he pulls up to work everyday dressed for success, as Coval describes, and ready to “slang scents so the public stays fresh in all seasons.” As such, his store’s presence is felt on that block, as Coval mentions that this salesman is a “hustler of culture.” Finally, Coval caps off these ideas when he states that this salesman is “permitless and perpetually illegal.” If I were to connect the dots, I would say that Coval is trying to highlight that illegal immigrants (as insinuated with ‘perpetually’) still significantly contribute to the culture in communities around the country. Like this scent salesman, who may be illegal on paper, but he still provides “feng shui for the hood.”