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greybeard49's review against another edition
4.0
For some reason the star rating system has disappeared. I awarded the book 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not enamoured with poetry anthologies built around some 'theme' - in this case life and it's developing stages. It seems a little synthetic to me. Is not all poetry about life? Anyway not a big deal.
Most of the chosen poems and poets I thought to be excellent and I was often surprised, in a good way, about the innovative approaches taken to structure and language by some poets.
I find that I never really 'finish' a good book of poems. If they have merit you always pick up the book again and reread what has excited you before. This book deserves that comment in spades and I know I will be rereading it for some time to come.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not enamoured with poetry anthologies built around some 'theme' - in this case life and it's developing stages. It seems a little synthetic to me. Is not all poetry about life? Anyway not a big deal.
Most of the chosen poems and poets I thought to be excellent and I was often surprised, in a good way, about the innovative approaches taken to structure and language by some poets.
I find that I never really 'finish' a good book of poems. If they have merit you always pick up the book again and reread what has excited you before. This book deserves that comment in spades and I know I will be rereading it for some time to come.
lila5's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
The "Staying Alive" anthologies were among the first collections to make me really fall in love with poetry. I had previously read Staying Alive and Being Human so I had high expectations for Being Alive. It did not disappoint. The poems in this book cover a wide range of experiences and exposed me to new and diverse poets whose work I otherwise may not have read. I cannot recommend this series highly enough.
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