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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
DNF at page 66. Poetry shouldn't be a slog, so I'm setting this one aside.
aarikdanielsen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
trisweb's review against another edition
1.0
I bought this book solely based on the first poem, "Odd Blocks," because it had a lot of depth to it, a ton of metaphor and distinction and self-awareness that makes you think about all those "monuments to randomness." Beautiful, thoughtful, poignant; couldn't ask for a better poem. I was surprised! Why had I never heard of this Kay Ryan before? Indeed, after buying it I was going to write a review which began, "It's rare that you feel you got your entire money's worth from a book just on the first page."
Unfortunately that turned out to be a all too true. Little did I know that the rest of Kay Ryan's poems did not follow in the footsteps of this one. Most often they are subtle observations, but not simple in a good way, it's the simplicity on *this* side of complexity if you catch my drift; simplicity without meaning, simplicity without understanding, and a rhyme here and there almost as if it were the purpose. I initially spent a great deal of time looking, searching, digging; trying to find anything under the surface of each poem. Eventually I gave up. Oh yes, that's a tree. And now you're writing about your pen, and just your pen, oh and how your pen writes, and how one once compared it to a sword (oh, never read that before). Apologies for being cynical, but I really tried, and couldn't find, any value in most of these poems. They just left me with sort of a "huh" feeling, and eventually as though I had wasted my time. There are a lot of great poets out there elucidating ideas you never knew existed in ways you never thought possible, and they are worth your time; Kay Ryan appears to be a simple poet shedding light on what is already lit in tried and true ways. What's the point?
Except for in that first one. And you can read it right on Amazon or Google Books. "Odd Blocks" is the best, and only good poem in this entire collection. Save your money and just read that one. Almost makes me wonder if she stumbled on that metaphor by mistake. If she were trying surely she would have succeeded a good three or four more times, but that's not the case in this collection. Very unfortunate.
Unfortunately that turned out to be a all too true. Little did I know that the rest of Kay Ryan's poems did not follow in the footsteps of this one. Most often they are subtle observations, but not simple in a good way, it's the simplicity on *this* side of complexity if you catch my drift; simplicity without meaning, simplicity without understanding, and a rhyme here and there almost as if it were the purpose. I initially spent a great deal of time looking, searching, digging; trying to find anything under the surface of each poem. Eventually I gave up. Oh yes, that's a tree. And now you're writing about your pen, and just your pen, oh and how your pen writes, and how one once compared it to a sword (oh, never read that before). Apologies for being cynical, but I really tried, and couldn't find, any value in most of these poems. They just left me with sort of a "huh" feeling, and eventually as though I had wasted my time. There are a lot of great poets out there elucidating ideas you never knew existed in ways you never thought possible, and they are worth your time; Kay Ryan appears to be a simple poet shedding light on what is already lit in tried and true ways. What's the point?
Except for in that first one. And you can read it right on Amazon or Google Books. "Odd Blocks" is the best, and only good poem in this entire collection. Save your money and just read that one. Almost makes me wonder if she stumbled on that metaphor by mistake. If she were trying surely she would have succeeded a good three or four more times, but that's not the case in this collection. Very unfortunate.
emquartz15's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
I’m a simp for short poems that are witty yet profound, funny yet meaningful. This book is full of those, so needless to say, I loved it. (In the same vein as Billy Collins, but way better.)
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Some favorites: "Shift," "Spiderweb," "Force," "Why We Must Struggle," "Weak Forces," and "Things Shouldn't Be So Hard."
jmbz38's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
4.5
“TRAIN-TRACK FIGURE”
Imagine a
train-track figure
made of sliver
over sliver of
between-car
vision, each
slice too brief
to add detail
or deepen: that
could be a hat
if it's a person
if it's a person
if it's a person.
Just the same
scant information
timed to supplant
the same scant
information.
TITLE—The Best of It
AUTHOR—Kay Ryan
PUBLISHED—2010 (with some poems published as early as 1994)
PUBLISHER—Grove Press (new york)
GENRE—poetry
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—life’s rhythms and cycles, the beauty & fascination in the mundane, Nature poetry (esp. animals, weather, & landscapes), science poetry (esp. physics, archaeology, & astronomy), human history & legacy, philosophy & psychology, compelling wordplay
WRITING STYLE—🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖
COLLECTION/FLOW—🌕🌕🌕🌕🌚
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Ryan’s Nature poetry was especially precious and perceptive.
PHILOSOPHY—🌕🌕🌕🌕🌚
“PAIRED THINGS”
Who, who had only seen wings,
could extrapolate the
skinny sticks of things
birds use for land,
the backward way they bend,
the silly way they stand?
And who, only studying
bird tracks in the sand,
could think those little forks
had decamped on the wind?
So many paired things seem odd.
Who ever would have dreamed
the broad winged raven of despair
would quit the air and go
bandy-legged upon the ground,
a common crow?
My thoughts:
A different kind of poetry collection than what I usually pick up but I read her ELEPHANT ROCKS a couple years ago and had wanted to read more from her so when I spotted this collection at a library book sale I decided it was a sign and I Ryan’s style and the themes and content of her work on this reading utterly absorbing. I especially loved the subtle rhythms of her language and the structure of the poems.
I would recommend this book to readers who are newer to poetry and maybe tend to be more science or “left-brain” oriented. This book is best read slowly—digesting just a few poems each day.
Final note: I’ll definitely be adding more Kay Ryan to my TBR in the future!
“A CERTAIN KIND OF EDEN”
It seems like you could, but
you can't go back and pull
the roots and runners and replant.
It's all too deep for that.
You've overprized intention,
have mistaken any bent you're given
for control. You thought you chose
the bean and chose the soil.
You even thought you abandoned
one or two gardens. But those things
keep growing where we put them—
if we put them at all.
A certain kind of Eden holds us thrall.
Even the one vine that tendrils out alone
in time turns on its own impulse,
twisting back down its upward course
a strong and then a stronger rope,
the greenest saddest strongest
kind of hope.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Further Reading—
- Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- Robert Frost—TBR
timbo001's review against another edition
5.0
Short, hard-edged poems layered with depth and erudition. I tried for years to write short poems like Ryan's and gave up.