#poetry

  • Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC of “Otherwhere” by Carolyn Forché. Carolyn Forché’s “Otherwhere” is a difficult book to read. Not because of her style or the composition of the poems, but because the subjects are so weighty with pain and sorrow, with suffering and injustice and inhumanity. These poems discuss living through…

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  • Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC of “Mock Heart” by Jill Bialosky. It is greatly appreciated! “Mock Heart” is a beautiful collection of poetry. Jill Bialosky has a distinct voice on the page; her work makes me feel like I am observing a discourse between a brilliant mind and…

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  • Thank you NetGalley and ACTE IV for the review copy of “Dear Ophelia.” I understand what the author was trying to do with this book, but it didn’t work. It feels like it is trying to masquerade as a self-help book in verse but is afraid to go onto the dance floor. This is the…

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  • Thank you NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC of Whitney Hanson’s newest poetry collection The Love of My Life. So many poems in Whitney Hanson’s new collection hit close to home. Sometimes I had to step away for a few minutes to center myself; at the same time, I was relieved that there was…

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  • My list has gotten a little out of order, and I’ve had a couple surprise additions. Well, maybe not such a surprise, as I requested these extra titles from NetGalley, but they weren’t put on the SRL because I didn’t know if I was going to be blessed by the Book Gods. (Spoiler: I was.)…

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  • Book two of my SRL is Chera Hammons’ stunning poetry collection Birds of America. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of Birds of America. It is greatly appreciated! It is rare that I rate a book five stars, but this is a truly beautiful collection of poetry and more than deserves it.…

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  • Hello Friends! It’s Memorial Day weekend here in the US, and for this reader girl, that means multiple parades (youngest son is a drummer in his high school marching band), pausing to pay respect to people that laid down their lives in service to the country that they believed in, and plenty of time to…

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  • Thank you NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the ARC of Michelle Awad’s poems “Sudden Seances.” Michelle Awad writes in a variety of styles; each poem is crafted in such a way as to best present its its message. The line breaks and stanzas force the reader to carefully weigh what they have read. Awad…

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  • National Poetry Month has come to an end. I hope you have enjoyed the poets I have shared here. Some were favorites of mine, others were new voices that I wish to learn more about. The festival of Beltane begins at sundown tonight, and so we will say goodbye to April with a song to…

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  • A Haiku, by Matsuo Basho

    Spring is coming soon! The setting is right for it: a plum tree, the moon.

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