aliciaprettybrowneyereader's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
First of all, the cover for this collection is eye-catching. It is a painting by Seattle artist, Kevin Neireiter and helps set the vibe for readers of the collection. Another way Matejka sets the vibe is by the quotes chosen at the beginning. One of those quotes is from poet Rodney Jones “Being mixed, you’re the man of the future, Too bad the future isn’t now.”
Having mixed (multi) racial identities is a theme of the collection. Another theme that emerges is the dissolution of family. He has a poem that has the child’s perspective and the mother’s perspective of the father leaving. It is a great example of narrative poetry.
The poet has some excellent closing lines for the poems. In the poem, The Meaning of Rpms which is about a blind woman, he ends the poem “But Pearl could tell I was lying just by hearing me talk” Another thing the poet does well is the incorporation of music, Miles Davis and Al Green are mentioned in several poems.
I will definitely read more of his poetry.
More...