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astral_doe's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Poetry collection focusing a lot on young love and being from an immigrant family and losing parts of your culture.
aarushr's review
4.0
Rating 4.1 stars
The fact that I did not read this book earlier is such a shame because it is written so beautifully that it feels like a treat everytime you read it.
The format of book is such that you can live a little in Phil Kaye's life trough it in pieces or in dates and times. It has beautiful confessions of a soul living a childhood before internet, a childhood of divorce and other intimate parts of life. Phil manages to bring the same magic in his book as he does in his spoken poetry. The first half or 100 pages of the book are chef's kisses and definitely award worthy.
My favorite lines(I couldn't choose just one)-
• I think about how odd it must feel
to be famous for your sadness
• stutter is a cage
made of mirrors
every what’d you say
every just take your time
every come on, kid, spit it out
is a glaring reflection
of an existence
you cannot escape
every moment trips
over its own announcement
again & again & again
until it just hangs there
in the center
of the room as if what you had
to say had no
gravity at all
• is this what it means to be human?
to be all powerful?
to build a temple
to yourself
and leave
only the walls to pray
The fact that I did not read this book earlier is such a shame because it is written so beautifully that it feels like a treat everytime you read it.
The format of book is such that you can live a little in Phil Kaye's life trough it in pieces or in dates and times. It has beautiful confessions of a soul living a childhood before internet, a childhood of divorce and other intimate parts of life. Phil manages to bring the same magic in his book as he does in his spoken poetry. The first half or 100 pages of the book are chef's kisses and definitely award worthy.
My favorite lines(I couldn't choose just one)-
• I think about how odd it must feel
to be famous for your sadness
• stutter is a cage
made of mirrors
every what’d you say
every just take your time
every come on, kid, spit it out
is a glaring reflection
of an existence
you cannot escape
every moment trips
over its own announcement
again & again & again
until it just hangs there
in the center
of the room as if what you had
to say had no
gravity at all
• is this what it means to be human?
to be all powerful?
to build a temple
to yourself
and leave
only the walls to pray
manoncremers's review
2.0
Seeing the poem Camaro performed by him in a Youtube video is what made me buy Date & Time. Obviously they wouldn't promote the best poem out of the entire book, right? There must be something else of equal perfection, right? And yes, there are some. Some enough to make me rate it three stars. However, I can't help having expected more. While poems like My Grandmother's Ballroom, and Camaro really spoke to me, others like Internet speaks back to the author, 1998, Yellow Bouquet or The New Multihyphenate just absolutely did not. Each of them examples of a great idea that could have been worked out better. Writing out poems meant for spoken word means that they should always flow easily, whether they are read or heard. Writing poems / in this / form / merely for / the aesthetic of it / does not / do them justice. Sorry, Phil.
cordelia0327's review
5.0
picked up this book thinking it would be a little light poetry reading moment.
did not expect it to seep under my skin and rip my heart out.
the way he talks about the passage of time and this constant push and pull of relationships. it’s real and raw and had me trying (and failing miserably) to hold back my tears.
did not expect it to seep under my skin and rip my heart out.
the way he talks about the passage of time and this constant push and pull of relationships. it’s real and raw and had me trying (and failing miserably) to hold back my tears.
sfujii's review
5.0
I am not a person who sits around reading volumes of poetry. But I have a special affinity for Phil (and Sarah) who have performed many times over the years at the school I teach out. What I love about his poetry is how unpretentious, real, and MOVING it is.
Some are fun, but have one line in them that just punches you in the gut. For example, a poem about going to a carnival with a friend, eating carnival fare, and asking a question about suicide, and then brushing it off.
Some of deeply sad - recounting losing a grandmother, first in her mind, and then in body. Simple descriptions of her mind and memories as a ballroom.
And some just beautifully capture life - love, death, confusion, relationships, divorce - all of it.
So so beautiful. I'm keeping this one on my shelf in the hopes I can share it with others. It's too good to give away to just anyone, or anywhere.
Some are fun, but have one line in them that just punches you in the gut. For example, a poem about going to a carnival with a friend, eating carnival fare, and asking a question about suicide, and then brushing it off.
Some of deeply sad - recounting losing a grandmother, first in her mind, and then in body. Simple descriptions of her mind and memories as a ballroom.
And some just beautifully capture life - love, death, confusion, relationships, divorce - all of it.
So so beautiful. I'm keeping this one on my shelf in the hopes I can share it with others. It's too good to give away to just anyone, or anywhere.
daramillz's review
5.0
I don’t always read the praise from other authors on the backs of books, but with Terrance Hayes, Clint Smith, and Elizabeth Acevedo all recommending this volume I figured it would be worth picking up. This was one of my favorite collections I’ve read this year — very vulnerable and personal, but also universal.
seedy's review
emotional
slow-paced
4.0
camaro… fucked! i do think these poems are meant to be listened to