Reviews

Headwaters: Poems by Ellen Bryant Voigt

andiekk's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

circlebeing's review

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reflective tense

bbshams's review

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4.0

almost manic at times, her writing has a strange calm despite the chaos it thrives in. her line breaks are never where you would expect them to me, calls for very close reading.

andrestrujillo's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

isabelkitarj's review

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4.0

These poems are pastoral, wintry and northern rather than lush, capturing sublime moments in nature, encounters with animals, and daily human experiences. The same creatures, characters, and plants come up repeatedly. Simple, lovely, and melodious when read aloud. I particularly liked “Groundhog” and “Birch.”

belleoftheb00ks's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

sam8834's review against another edition

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4.0

Love the line breaks and syntax and lack of punctuation and pacing in these poems, they powerfully carry the whole collection.

lavenderdafrog1's review

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reflective medium-paced

2.0

themysteriouserk's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This is easily one of my top ten poetry collections. While the syntax and line work can be quite challenging, the imagery and language are both accessible and deeply evocative. Perfect for both lovers of nature poems and people who are tired of nature poems - they take such an oft-used subject/trope and do something totally new with it, using natural imagery as a way of reflecting on death, romantic love, and the Big Questions of philosophy and religion, but keeping all those big abstract ideas grounded in an immediate reality. It’s also got some damn beautiful lines. I tend to read this book every year.

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madison__ruby's review

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challenging emotional slow-paced

3.5