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larkspire's review
3.0
This deserves a better review than I can give it.
I did alright in high school English but since then I haven't been an especially prolific reader of poetry, particularly poetry of the present day (I don't know how to classify poetry academically, but knowing a little of other media has made me shy of using words like "contemporary" when present-day, current, is what I mean). And even if I'd remembered how to write about poetry, high school was about interpreting themes rather than stating your opinions and the reason why you felt and/or thought that way.
But if anyone's looking for the opinion of an amateur reader and worse reviewer, I mostly found this enjoyable. Brown is great at establishing an atmosphere, as in "Svalbard" and "White Hart Lane", and even "David Beach" where I'm almost sure that wasn't the point. There's plenty of variation, though. Many of the pieces I appreciated the most are less atmospheric but very concise and clever, like "Flying Fuck", and I loved the structure of repetition and reframing (sometimes rephrasing) Brown employs in "Restructure", "Gloss", "Words", and others.
My favourites were "Reception", "White Hart Lane", "Words", "Letter to Hugo", and the very relatable "The AM Sound" and "Awkward Apologies". And I understand just enough that "Stressed / Unstressed", "Tautology Explained" and "Postmodernism Explained" tickled me.
I was less fond of "Come on Lance" and "Agile Workshop". I certainly see what Brown did with each of those, but I didn't really get it, and I'm not sure what I was supposed to get (unless it was just a demonstration of technique, in which case... it sure is one, but appreciating it was a little above the level of this amateur). So you'll have to rely on someone who's a better reader (or even an author) of poetry to talk about those, about what they think Brown was going for beyond (or if not beyond, as a demonstration of) technique, and whether they think he got there.
I did alright in high school English but since then I haven't been an especially prolific reader of poetry, particularly poetry of the present day (I don't know how to classify poetry academically, but knowing a little of other media has made me shy of using words like "contemporary" when present-day, current, is what I mean). And even if I'd remembered how to write about poetry, high school was about interpreting themes rather than stating your opinions and the reason why you felt and/or thought that way.
But if anyone's looking for the opinion of an amateur reader and worse reviewer, I mostly found this enjoyable. Brown is great at establishing an atmosphere, as in "Svalbard" and "White Hart Lane", and even "David Beach" where I'm almost sure that wasn't the point. There's plenty of variation, though. Many of the pieces I appreciated the most are less atmospheric but very concise and clever, like "Flying Fuck", and I loved the structure of repetition and reframing (sometimes rephrasing) Brown employs in "Restructure", "Gloss", "Words", and others.
My favourites were "Reception", "White Hart Lane", "Words", "Letter to Hugo", and the very relatable "The AM Sound" and "Awkward Apologies". And I understand just enough that "Stressed / Unstressed", "Tautology Explained" and "Postmodernism Explained" tickled me.
I was less fond of "Come on Lance" and "Agile Workshop". I certainly see what Brown did with each of those, but I didn't really get it, and I'm not sure what I was supposed to get (unless it was just a demonstration of technique, in which case... it sure is one, but appreciating it was a little above the level of this amateur). So you'll have to rely on someone who's a better reader (or even an author) of poetry to talk about those, about what they think Brown was going for beyond (or if not beyond, as a demonstration of) technique, and whether they think he got there.
_haggis_'s review
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
1.5
Having been taught briefly by Brown, I feel a little guilty giving his collection such a low score.
I read it three years ago (just after I met him) and felt pretty..... underwhelmed by the work... but I thought enough time had passed to give it another go and well......
I just didn't like it. Some of the poems were clever and funny, I enjoyed the slipperiness of langauge in Hanami and the surprising, deft images in Green light. (A standout line is the moon bathing 'my eyes/with her lowing milky lamp'. In these poems, among a few others we see Brown's attention to detail and his interest in the mundanities of life really come to the fore - the idle eye, the introspection, the innocuous noticing of pricetags during moments of emotional intensity -- those, those are goood poems.
It's just a shame that they were few and far between in this collection. There are a large number of works in this collection, and honestly quite a number of them felt like they'd been scratched hurriedly to bulk out the pages. Many of the poems, of which Opening comes to mind, felt cliche, predictable and just boring to read. The 'meaning' was often contrived, or else so unsubtle that it felt like reading a beginner 13 year old poet's twitter account:
I trace and retrace my steps
But you are nowhere
'Go away' I tell you (Ghosting)
For a poet that prides himself on 'interesting language choice', a large number of the poems had uninteresting metaphors, tired word choices and were largely pretty forgettable. Not one of his best works at all.
I read it three years ago (just after I met him) and felt pretty..... underwhelmed by the work... but I thought enough time had passed to give it another go and well......
I just didn't like it. Some of the poems were clever and funny, I enjoyed the slipperiness of langauge in Hanami and the surprising, deft images in Green light. (A standout line is the moon bathing 'my eyes/with her lowing milky lamp'. In these poems, among a few others we see Brown's attention to detail and his interest in the mundanities of life really come to the fore - the idle eye, the introspection, the innocuous noticing of pricetags during moments of emotional intensity -- those, those are goood poems.
It's just a shame that they were few and far between in this collection. There are a large number of works in this collection, and honestly quite a number of them felt like they'd been scratched hurriedly to bulk out the pages. Many of the poems, of which Opening comes to mind, felt cliche, predictable and just boring to read. The 'meaning' was often contrived, or else so unsubtle that it felt like reading a beginner 13 year old poet's twitter account:
I trace and retrace my steps
But you are nowhere
'Go away' I tell you (Ghosting)
For a poet that prides himself on 'interesting language choice', a large number of the poems had uninteresting metaphors, tired word choices and were largely pretty forgettable. Not one of his best works at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
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