Rating poetry collections is always strange, but, like Billy Collins, I found Oliver’s offerings to be incredibly accessible—and with their own airy bRating poetry collections is always strange, but, like Billy Collins, I found Oliver’s offerings to be incredibly accessible—and with their own airy beauty. Oliver’s words and themes feel more transitory and meandering, and not a little sly, than I found presented from Collins, anchored by a love of nature and the vastness of human emotions....more
Such a great collection for a book lover — wide variety of poets with a range of topics and focal points all related to books and reading. One of my fSuch a great collection for a book lover — wide variety of poets with a range of topics and focal points all related to books and reading. One of my favorites was actually penned by the editor, Andrew Scrimgeour.
Described by Reynolds as Boyz n the Hood meets A Christmas Carol, this phenomenal book in verse, Long Way Down, is about a fifteen-year-old young man Described by Reynolds as Boyz n the Hood meets A Christmas Carol, this phenomenal book in verse, Long Way Down, is about a fifteen-year-old young man named Will and a single, minute-long elevator ride as he descends to the ground floor of his apartment building.
Will's brother, Shawn, has been shot and killed, and Shawn told Will about the code. —No crying. No snitching. Seek revenge.—
Told in verse through a series of connected poems, Reynolds displays the stutteringly small moments that make up our lives through the urgency and speediness found in a poem's structure. A modified stream-of-consciousness woven into a narrative that is brief and tremendously impactful.
Audiobook, as narrated by the author: The vocal delivery of poetry is a complicated business. Never more so when it's not your own work — and I think it was so important and wise that Reynolds read his own words here. His voice is spectacular and his words are so present and aware, totally encapsulating multiple characters within the realm of an elevator ride....more
Gorman, only twenty-two years old when asked to write and read this poem to commemorate the inauguration of the next president. A poem that was pennedGorman, only twenty-two years old when asked to write and read this poem to commemorate the inauguration of the next president. A poem that was penned during a tumultuous time, with Gorman's words reflective of that period.
"When day comes, we ask ourselves: Where can we find light In this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. ... If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, Then love becomes our legacy, And change, our children's birthright. ... When day comes, we step out of the shade, Aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it, For there is always light, If only we're brave enough to see it, If only we're brave enough to be it."
We all lived through this too, but to encapsulate not only the agonizing days just after the election, the suspenseful days as we waited on a finalized count, and the devastation during the storming of the United States Capitol is quite the accomplishment. Not to mention how wonderfully Gorman managed, through all that acknowledgement of the shadows hanging over us, to somehow shine a light on hope for what's to come and joy for that day....more
Look. I really don't like to rate poetry in the general sense. Poetry is more personal in my opinion than any other form of words you can consume. MorLook. I really don't like to rate poetry in the general sense. Poetry is more personal in my opinion than any other form of words you can consume. More interpretive, more flexible, in their incarnations. One day, one year, you may feel completely differently about a poem you once loved. You may just interpret it from a different angle, appreciate it more or less, or feel that whatever you gleaned from it before is not the output you get from it anymore. And, of course the opposite holds true; a poem once dismissed could later on be translated differently by our minds and hearts. So, in that way, to rate a collection of poems feels less like rating a work of fiction, or even a book of non-fiction, and more like dismissing someone else's experiences.
However, I do still have opinions about ... well ... everything. So. That leaves me here—just me and my own little ol' opinion.
Between this work and The Sun and Her Flowers, I kept seeing Kaur's covers everywhere. I've really wanted to get around to reading more poetry this year, so I decided to take the plunge with a free Kindle borrow. Let's just say, I'm glad I didn't purchase this one.
On the whole, the entire book has loosely relatable messages. And while I liked most of the messages (if not all), I found that they felt nothing at all like poetry. There was very little depth, and instead the stab at attaining depth was clearly showing—like a too-long slip from beneath a skirt. These were words without melody, painting without feeling, and projecting without complexity.
Merely snippets of ideas, half-formed and sometimes lifeless—here you have more of a collection of quotes and observations rather than poetry. I don't mean that these were formless or lacking textbook rhyming schemes, but these were more like ideas (granted, sometimes excellent ideas revolving around feminism, body image, and self-worth) that have been jotted down and published under the guise of poetry—lacking the necessary intensity to qualify (in my own opinion) as such. The execution was rather juvenile, holding onto that level of accidental pretentiousness most people have when they think they've conquered philosophy (I mean, we are all there at some point—usually somewhere in the early- to mid-teens). It sounds nice, and maybe even makes sense, but that doesn't make it a complex and intense idea.
The poems were supplemented with the additions of pen/line sketches. Frankly, I preferred the sketches, but not all of those either—by any means. My favorite was a bit of the The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai in a water glass accompanying “i am water”....more
From the opening poem, 1960, I was drawn into the writing and style delivered by Collins. 1960 centers on the ambient sounds in those live recordings From the opening poem, 1960, I was drawn into the writing and style delivered by Collins. 1960 centers on the ambient sounds in those live recordings of music...named in particular here is a man's cough, so well known that it becomes a part of the song like a note being played.
It's as if Collins speaks a language called Poetry and it's so accessible, translatable, and conversational, you didn't realize you spoke it, as well. Some of the poems are quietly thoughtful, but many are injected with charm or humor or a muted simplicity that lands on such familiar ground, you're sure to find your footing....more
Runny Babbit is a cute and silly book that'll get you quite tongue-twisted, chock full of purposeful spoonerisms—a verbal error in which a speaker accRunny Babbit is a cute and silly book that'll get you quite tongue-twisted, chock full of purposeful spoonerisms—a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect.
This one was a favorite with my kids when they were young, producing giggles when you get it wrong just as often as when you get it right....more
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