A review by chrismarnone
Render by Sachiko Murakami

4.0

Sachiko Murakami's new collection, Render, feels like a meditation on addiction and loss, a flame flickering and occasionally flaring on the subjects. Her poems frequently paint the moments and people in negative space, defining moments and emotions rather than concrete details, which is working well most of the time. Some of these poems, like "internment," are associative, lending a sense of addiction, obsession, and a frantic thought process. Others like "good god/bad god" play with form, creating a list with poetic definitions. There's a long section near the end that reads like a prose poem with stanza breaks, juggling this form with older poetic sensibilities was comforting and jarring at the same time, displaying what felt like a sober addict's mindset. Overall, a very good book of poems.