Reviews

Love and Other Poems by Alex Dimitrov

claireescott's review against another edition

5.0

I think this is my new favorite poet and collection of poetry. The thing I love most about Dimitrov's poetry is how he captures a kind of wonder and love for the world that is still grounded in the misery of everything happening exactly now. I felt hope well up inside of me as I read—hope that I will continue to live through moments that he describes (a sunset in NYC, a spring day en route to a party) and hope that I can live through my own moments with the same kind of attention and adoration that he does.

bluelilyblue's review against another edition

2.0

I can't remember the last time I dragged my heels through a poetry collection quite like this. I enjoyed Sunset on 14th Street, Golden Record, Summer Solstice, December. The rest struck me as either exasperatingly self-absorbed or simply banal.

meg_dyer's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

sara_shocks's review against another edition

4.0

Overall, I really liked this collection and the voice! Favorite poems: "A True Account of Talking to the Moon at Fire Island," "August," "New Moon," "Weldon Kees," "Rehearsals for Utopia," "March," "Suddenly, Summer," and "Poem Written in a Cab"

forgereads17's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-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

brice_mo's review against another edition

3.0

This was delightful! I think the first half feels a little flat, but at around the midway point, it turns into a sweet celebration of the grandiosity of life's smallnesses.

ruxandra_grr's review against another edition

4.0

There’s a freedom in hotel bars
when telling the bartender a secret
or switching up your drink
can remind you life isn’t over.
That maybe it’s just stalled for a while.

At first I didn't connect to this as much, but then I ended up falling in love with a few of the poems here and the general YEARNING of it all coming through. I'm not great at writing about poetry, but I can tell you if I feel things when reading it and that has to be enough. I also started to connect with this idea of how things are really not how you'd thought they'd be, feeling lost in that and scared. I needed this.

The standout titles for me in this one were: 'A True Account of Talking to the Moon at Fire Island' (the first where quite a bit of humor started to come through and I thought it was great), 'New York' (an account of a bunch of places and moments of crying in New York), 'January' and 'Poem Written in a Cab'.

Then one day you’re in traffic
at the end of the frozen room.
The edges of your life undressing
and the actors who played you
rehearsing lines that couldn’t
bring you to love.

[Read this as part of an ongoing effort to go through my TBR and read things I've forgotten that I'd added. Using random.org to select stuff from my want-to-read shelf. This was #1002. Also I plan on reading at least one poetry collection a month this year]

reubenlb's review against another edition

1.0

“i’m absolutely dedicated to writing a good sentence” writes alex - it’s a shame his poems read like an english student who is fluent in the mechanics of poetry but never understands the soul of it

a_1212's review against another edition

3.0

~3.25

cambriakalt's review against another edition

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

2.5