drekklin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Heavy with thorough metaphors and similes, and packed with mystical, nostalgic motifs, this is a poetry collection with a magic through-line that reads as a beautiful, copacetic whole.
svetyas4's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
4.75
A beautiful book of poetry, gorgeous.
yurwity's review against another edition
5.0
The collection open with a story, told like a myth or folk tale, about the three doors of one’s life: a yellow wood door, which shows the past and someone loved and lost; a red stone door, which shows the self crying for something one cannot let go; and a blue glass door, which shows the future. The poems in The Feather Room show Anis Mojgani’s journey through these three doors.
I’m still not quite sure what I thought of Mojgani. These were very strange poems, and I can’t pretend I under them all. Some of the shorter ones were particularly strange. I mean, what does it mean to feel like a field again? But I adore the strangeness, probably because it’s overflowing with natural images: flowers, birds, lions, canyons; these are the images of my own childhood and some of my own poetic preoccupations, so I immediately felt a rapport with Mojgani. I also believe that a poem is only worth the amount that it makes you think, so I have no qualms with obscurity as long as there’s something to be uncovered in it. And I do see that here. These poems tell the story of a transformation and transcendence. It delves into the depths of grief and regret, but then leaves them behind. Overall, I’d say The Feather Room is full of tenderness, vulnerability, and wonder. For a reader looking for poems about retribution or anger, this collection would be a disappointment. All I can say is that this book made me feel good as I was reading it and after I finished, and I think that’s worth something. I want more of Anis Mojgani.
Some of my favorites from this collection are “The Feathers,” “Photosynthesis,” “My Ghosts,” “The Grieving Room,” and “Spring Comes in on the Tails.” (But I enjoyed them all.)
I’m still not quite sure what I thought of Mojgani. These were very strange poems, and I can’t pretend I under them all. Some of the shorter ones were particularly strange. I mean, what does it mean to feel like a field again? But I adore the strangeness, probably because it’s overflowing with natural images: flowers, birds, lions, canyons; these are the images of my own childhood and some of my own poetic preoccupations, so I immediately felt a rapport with Mojgani. I also believe that a poem is only worth the amount that it makes you think, so I have no qualms with obscurity as long as there’s something to be uncovered in it. And I do see that here. These poems tell the story of a transformation and transcendence. It delves into the depths of grief and regret, but then leaves them behind. Overall, I’d say The Feather Room is full of tenderness, vulnerability, and wonder. For a reader looking for poems about retribution or anger, this collection would be a disappointment. All I can say is that this book made me feel good as I was reading it and after I finished, and I think that’s worth something. I want more of Anis Mojgani.
Some of my favorites from this collection are “The Feathers,” “Photosynthesis,” “My Ghosts,” “The Grieving Room,” and “Spring Comes in on the Tails.” (But I enjoyed them all.)
tate_modern's review against another edition
4.0
“This is where I saw you.
This is where I see you.
This is where inside of me you sleep.
When I put you into my mouth
it tastes of almonds dipped in rose water.
This is where I taste like this too.”
This is where I see you.
This is where inside of me you sleep.
When I put you into my mouth
it tastes of almonds dipped in rose water.
This is where I taste like this too.”
lucybutcher's review against another edition
5.0
Anis Mojgani does an incredible job of putting words to experiences and feelings that I know only by sensation, not language. Reading his poems is like remembering a dream or a childhood memory in full blown color. His work reminds me to slow down, to look a little longer, to be a little kinder, to drink it in while we are still here. Buy this book, it will make you feel more alive.
peachesareshai's review against another edition
3.0
look, on heart i love Anis. this man has changed my life. but i feel like, at times, the poetry is really really personal, in the sense that we can’t really understand. that’s the only thing.
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