Scan barcode
sydsnot71's review
4.0
This collection started as a streamed event with an improvised soundtrack - if that's the right word. It is a collection of poems about his mostly absent father whose pictures are scattered throughout the collection.
It begins with his father's death in he poem 'Breath':
"When I hear my father dead,
I flew ten hours into the sun."
And death and dying are a part of this collection. Death, family, memory and fatherhood. A couple of the poems touch on Joseph's own role as a father.
It's a fine collection. It made me think about my Dad, even though he is very different to Joseph's father. The mortality of our parents is something we all understand, but which we never really want to think about. It feels to me that this collection is, perhaps, part of Joseph's mourning. A way to deal with loss and to try and understand his own past. But perhaps I am reading too much into it.
Worth reading.
It begins with his father's death in he poem 'Breath':
"When I hear my father dead,
I flew ten hours into the sun."
And death and dying are a part of this collection. Death, family, memory and fatherhood. A couple of the poems touch on Joseph's own role as a father.
It's a fine collection. It made me think about my Dad, even though he is very different to Joseph's father. The mortality of our parents is something we all understand, but which we never really want to think about. It feels to me that this collection is, perhaps, part of Joseph's mourning. A way to deal with loss and to try and understand his own past. But perhaps I am reading too much into it.
Worth reading.
theeuphoriczat's review
4.0
This autobiographical collection explores the author's relationship with his father, after his father's death. And because "...memory has a curious sting", he seems to finally perceive his father as a well rounded individual who had loved and lost despite his absence and somewhat disregard. With each poem Anthony draws us closer to his relationship with stories on religion, death, food, and small worlds they inhabited.
Some of my favourite poems are "Precipice", "A gap in language", "The trembling unto death", and "The work of generations".
"While we turn she says that she is near
the end of a circular motion.
...
That soon it will be our turn too, to turn
towards our graves.
...
Life and death are simple
when considered in this way."
Some of my favourite poems are "Precipice", "A gap in language", "The trembling unto death", and "The work of generations".
"While we turn she says that she is near
the end of a circular motion.
...
That soon it will be our turn too, to turn
towards our graves.
...
Life and death are simple
when considered in this way."
zoenatsume1998's review
4.0
Intrigued by beautiful cover, I devoured this book. Trinidad-born poet and musician, Joseph reflects on memories with his absent father after he passes away. I often find myself underwhelmed by poetry books, this being an exception. Joseph’s poetry follows a musical rhythm, allowing the poems to flourish and unfold with ease. The poems are very sensory, capturing and storing memories that are rich with smells, tastes and sounds. Such a style of introspective poetry is both rare and a pleasure to read. There are too many profoundly moving sentences and passages to include in this review, thus I would recommend just reading it. I also loved the photographs that accompanied the poems, they enhanced the immersive feel to his writing allowing the reader to reflect quietly on loss, memory and place.
More...