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dfparizeau's review
5.0
The most striking element of this book is the structure. I was never quite sure when and where Murakami would end a poem/thought or keep it bleeding through the next page. This meandering form lends an organic quality to the poems, that makes them cut that much closer to the bone.
chrismarnone's review
4.0
Sachiko Murakami's new collection, Render, feels like a meditation on addiction and loss, a flame flickering and occasionally flaring on the subjects. Her poems frequently paint the moments and people in negative space, defining moments and emotions rather than concrete details, which is working well most of the time. Some of these poems, like "internment," are associative, lending a sense of addiction, obsession, and a frantic thought process. Others like "good god/bad god" play with form, creating a list with poetic definitions. There's a long section near the end that reads like a prose poem with stanza breaks, juggling this form with older poetic sensibilities was comforting and jarring at the same time, displaying what felt like a sober addict's mindset. Overall, a very good book of poems.
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