...Trying to get over what my writer friend said, All you write about is being gay or Chinese. Wish I had thought
Excerpt from Poem in Noisy Mouthfuls:
...Trying to get over what my writer friend said, All you write about is being gay or Chinese. Wish I had thought to say to him, All you write about is being white
or an asshole. Wish I had said, No, I already write about everything-- & everything is salt, noise, struggle, hair, carrying, kisses, leaving, myth, popcorn,
When I started yesterday, I was thinking that I wish I'd started reading this right when it was published, right when it was the most pertinent. But nWhen I started yesterday, I was thinking that I wish I'd started reading this right when it was published, right when it was the most pertinent. But now, after finishing, I can say that this is just as pertinent today as it was then, maybe even more so....more
Despite what the back of the book says, Blood Work doesn't seem to be about living with Crohn's. It's more about life in general--about love, familiesDespite what the back of the book says, Blood Work doesn't seem to be about living with Crohn's. It's more about life in general--about love, families, depression, growing up, and yes, living with illness--and that makes it so accessible. Siegel also has a few pieces that were inspired by photographs and weren't autobiographical.
This was a lovely little collection, one I would certainly recommend to those looking for a new book of poetry to enjoy....more
Jacqueline Woodson grew up in the 1960s and 70s and shares her experience of being a young black girl in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York in a time Jacqueline Woodson grew up in the 1960s and 70s and shares her experience of being a young black girl in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York in a time of lots of racial tension. And she does it through POEMS. This is beautiful and easy to relate to. And very timely....more
If you decide to read this, make sure you're in the right mood for it. This isn't a book you read quickly; it's not a book you can skim. I generally sIf you decide to read this, make sure you're in the right mood for it. This isn't a book you read quickly; it's not a book you can skim. I generally speed read just a touch--when I first picked up this book, I didn't find it enjoyable at all. I had to put it down and pick it up later when I was ready for a more leisurely reading speed. If you don't slow down to enjoy it, you're going to completely miss the beauty of the writing.
Another reviewer, Elizabeth, said, "It wasn't until I finished the book that it all added up and the whole became greater than the sum of the parts."
That's how I felt too. I've read a lot of books built of short stories whose characters intertwined (but never one written in rhyming couplets), and as stories, they were pretty good. I felt they were limited, though, by the structure. The couplets were almost a bit distracting to me. I would get into a rhythm then get interrupted because something didn't exactly rhyme.
It's still amazing, though, that Rakoff was able to tell a compelling story (many compelling stories, really) in this form. ...more
This beautiful book is completely different than anything I've ever read before. I would classify most of it as prose poems--little vignettes of ThompThis beautiful book is completely different than anything I've ever read before. I would classify most of it as prose poems--little vignettes of Thompson's thoughts and experiences, snapshots of her emotions at different points in time.
Thompson bares her soul to her readers, and this little book produces a very visceral reaction. I couldn't read all of these in one sitting although the book was short. I had to put it down and give myself a break every now and then....more
Oh, how I wanted to love this. O'Donnell tells the story of Sarah Ellen Gibson, or Nellie as she prefers, through a series of poems told from the persOh, how I wanted to love this. O'Donnell tells the story of Sarah Ellen Gibson, or Nellie as she prefers, through a series of poems told from the perspective of Nellie and those around her. The poems are broken up into three parts: Nellie and her husband being separated while he searches for his fortune, Nellie and their two sons joining her husband and toughing it out in Alaska, and Nellie abandoning her family to move to Fairbanks with the man she loves. The poems are backed by research which really was the most compelling part.
This collection is part poetry and part historical fiction and unfortunately didn't fully satisfy me on either front.
My expectations of poetry may be too high--I like it to be chock full of meaning, transcendent. Even for ordinary events. Poetry should make the ordinary extraordinary. These poems occasionally got there for me, but usually the significance of the events seemed to be lost rather than enhanced by the medium.
As far as the historical fiction side goes, I needed more. I wanted to delve even further into Nellie's life: the decisions she made and why she made them. Or if I couldn't get the why (and this goes back to the poetry thing), I wanted to feel what she felt.
Maybe O'Donnell tried to do too much in too few pages. Maybe I was too excited to read this. Although I gave Steam Laundry only three stars, it almost got there for me, and I will absolutely read whatever O'Donnell puts out next. It's a good first work, and I bet her second will be even better....more
Does wisdom fret at what's in store And boggle at what's gone before-- Or rather does it not, like us, Do what it must, and nothing more? And is there creDoes wisdom fret at what's in store And boggle at what's gone before-- Or rather does it not, like us, Do what it must, and nothing more? And is there credo any know More sound than that--to just adjust, adjust, adjust, adjust, adjust, And every trouble, worry, woe, Ignore, ignore, ignore, ignore?
That's the second stanza of Coen's first poem (titled "We Sheep") in this short collection and not at all what I had expected. I thought it beautiful, Eliot-esque even.
From there it degenerates ("degenerates" sounds more negative than what I was going for) into coarser language for crasser subjects. The difference between the first and second poems is particularly shocking. My initial reaction was distaste, but once I got over the shock, I quite liked it. The sentiments expressed (and oftentimes the words used) were not beautiful, but the total product was--in an odd, twisted way. Coen covers such broad, bawdy subjects as picking up chicks, bestiality, and farts. Lots of farts. Also included are over a dozen pages of limericks. The cadences are sometimes a little off, but they had me giggling.
Between all of that roughness, there's the occasional beautiful poem whose unexpectedness just takes your breath away.
Poetry doesn't haven't to be stuffy. Poetry doesn't have to be so highbrow all the time. This is accessible poetry, rhythmic (and rhyming) poetry, poetry with something genius trying to get out, and I would recommend this collection to anyone who won't offend easily or take it too seriously.