laurensalisbury's review against another edition
4.0
This collection was intriguing and an pleasure to read. I just wish I could read the Belarus language.
annaketamina's review against another edition
5.0
lovely collection of poetry, reminiscent of Wisława Szymborska. I think I will revisit this very soon.
meekorouse's review against another edition
4.0
love the poetry and the bilingual text helps very much!
valerieloveland's review against another edition
4.0
I moved Mort's book [b:Factory of Tears|2231658|Factory of Tears|Valzhyna Mort|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266656079s/2231658.jpg|2237470] to the top of my reading list because I liked the poem that Sarah posted in the online poem section of the group, and I heard Mort reading on the Poetry Magazine podcast. I was impressed by both her reading and her writing.
I am still impressed after reading her book. Her images are very often surprising and she seems to write simply, but the poems are somehow heavy and they stick to you. They are gorgeous, even when their subjects aren't.
This book was translated, but Mort has started to write in English. I only heard one of her English poems, but if all of her future Enlish poems are as good as the one I heard/read on Poetry Magazine. (The poem is Jean-Paul Belmondo), I can't wait for her next book. I missed the chance to see her read in Massachusetts last month. Even though the drive would have been an hour and a half away, I am mad I didn't go.
My favorite poems in the book:
New York
Grandmother (4th poem from the top)
White Apples
On a Steamer
I am still impressed after reading her book. Her images are very often surprising and she seems to write simply, but the poems are somehow heavy and they stick to you. They are gorgeous, even when their subjects aren't.
This book was translated, but Mort has started to write in English. I only heard one of her English poems, but if all of her future Enlish poems are as good as the one I heard/read on Poetry Magazine. (The poem is Jean-Paul Belmondo), I can't wait for her next book. I missed the chance to see her read in Massachusetts last month. Even though the drive would have been an hour and a half away, I am mad I didn't go.
My favorite poems in the book:
New York
Grandmother (4th poem from the top)
White Apples
On a Steamer
eliza_reads's review
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I bought this after reading and loving a few of the author's more recent poems elsewhere. This was her first collection to appear in English, and the first time I have read anything translated from Belarusian or encountered Belarusian text--this is a dual-language edition, with the Belarusian originals on each facing page. Many of the poems explicitly engage with Belarusian history, politics, and language, and I am sure I am missing a lot of the complexity of the collection--I don't know much at all about Belarus, and I felt my ignorance reading this book and in the brief research I did after finishing it. Still, I found the book powerful and chillingly evocative, and the most explicitly political poems especially were both ghostly and furious. For example, from "Belarusian 1":
"even our mothers have no idea how we were born
how we parted their legs and crawled out into the world
the way you crawl from the ruins after a bombing
we couldn't tell which of us was a girl or a boy
we gorged on dirt thinking it was bread
and our future
a gymnast on a thin thread of the horizon
was performing there
at the highest pitch
bitch"
Or from "Belarusian II":
"this language does not exist!
it doesn't have any system!
it's impossible to talk to it--
it strikes you in the face at once!
even on holidays
you won't decorate the city with it
it can't be doctored up with either fireworks
or neon light
oh, come on, let this system kiss my
a c c o r d i o n"
Overall, the collection felt a bit uneven to me, although again I am sure there was a lot that I missed. The best poems are exceptional, especially the long poem "White Trash" and several of the poems towards the end, and the whole book is well worth careful reading. I will definitely be seeking out Valzhyna Mort's other work.
"even our mothers have no idea how we were born
how we parted their legs and crawled out into the world
the way you crawl from the ruins after a bombing
we couldn't tell which of us was a girl or a boy
we gorged on dirt thinking it was bread
and our future
a gymnast on a thin thread of the horizon
was performing there
at the highest pitch
bitch"
Or from "Belarusian II":
"this language does not exist!
it doesn't have any system!
it's impossible to talk to it--
it strikes you in the face at once!
even on holidays
you won't decorate the city with it
it can't be doctored up with either fireworks
or neon light
oh, come on, let this system kiss my
a c c o r d i o n"
Overall, the collection felt a bit uneven to me, although again I am sure there was a lot that I missed. The best poems are exceptional, especially the long poem "White Trash" and several of the poems towards the end, and the whole book is well worth careful reading. I will definitely be seeking out Valzhyna Mort's other work.
pogue's review
4.0
I have not read poetry in a while and as good as this book is, I am sure it is much better spoken.
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