A review by evanaviary
Swimming Lessons: Poems, by Lili Reinhart
2.0
Out of nearly 100 entries in this collection, only a small handful felt remotely substantive. The rest are a sentence—two at most—and are standard postmodern poetry that reads as closer to journal entries. Take this:
This collection felt rushed with filler like this. Recollections of relationships that always feel like they're floating at the surface, no greater introspection or devices at work. Stronger editorial guidance to actually tie loose threads together might have solidified this collection for me. It's difficult for these poems to actually work with each other because the moments with gravity get buried deep into the middle. Idk, this could've worked a lot better and just left me wanting much more depth. Time to get out of the pool, I guess.
This is how I know
I love you so much.
Whenever I see something
beautiful, I want you to
see it, too
This collection felt rushed with filler like this. Recollections of relationships that always feel like they're floating at the surface, no greater introspection or devices at work. Stronger editorial guidance to actually tie loose threads together might have solidified this collection for me. It's difficult for these poems to actually work with each other because the moments with gravity get buried deep into the middle. Idk, this could've worked a lot better and just left me wanting much more depth. Time to get out of the pool, I guess.