yellow_star's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
Basically I love literary poetry but this stinks.
This is a drudgery of a chapbook. The poems are similar to relatable memes, but they fail at actually being relatable or insightful at all. I'd say they are the shallowest most boring poems I've read, and I used to deal with poems written by children. It has "insightful themes" like: 'inspiration is inspirational, when rocks move it makes me think of feelings moving, have you ever just... trailed off in a tight?' Wow. Much insight. It doesn't sound pretty, it doesn't make you think, and it's not approachable for beginners like "Where The Sidewalk Ends" so I don't see its value for poetry haters or lovers. Why do people call this junk a classic?
The title is also misleading, only two or so poems are about nature.
This is a drudgery of a chapbook. The poems are similar to relatable memes, but they fail at actually being relatable or insightful at all. I'd say they are the shallowest most boring poems I've read, and I used to deal with poems written by children. It has "insightful themes" like: 'inspiration is inspirational, when rocks move it makes me think of feelings moving, have you ever just... trailed off in a tight?' Wow. Much insight. It doesn't sound pretty, it doesn't make you think, and it's not approachable for beginners like "Where The Sidewalk Ends" so I don't see its value for poetry haters or lovers. Why do people call this junk a classic?
The title is also misleading, only two or so poems are about nature.
sam8834's review against another edition
Small poems about big things. Another thought-provoking collection from Kay Ryan.
rumii's review
Favourite Poems in this book:
- Venice
- Fatal Flaw
- Bunched Clothes
- Musical Chairs
- A Trench Like That
- Erratic Facts
kheleyr's review
3.0
I don't read much poetry, but I do like to pick it up once in a while. My favorite of this collection:
The Fatal Flaw
The fatal flaw
works through
the body like
a needle, just
a stick now
and then, again
and again missing
the heart. Most
people never bend
in the fatal way
at the fatal instant,
although they
harbor a needle
they shouldn't,
or, conversely,
some critical little
lifesaving sliver
is absent.
The Fatal Flaw
The fatal flaw
works through
the body like
a needle, just
a stick now
and then, again
and again missing
the heart. Most
people never bend
in the fatal way
at the fatal instant,
although they
harbor a needle
they shouldn't,
or, conversely,
some critical little
lifesaving sliver
is absent.
paigecm's review
5.0
It was a bit heartbreaking to read this chronicle of loss, but I'm glad I did. Dynamic Scaling, Musical Chairs, and My Kingdom For A Horse are my favorites.
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