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shalenaimathews's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This collection is incredible. Definitely picking up more Trethewey in the future.
dbjorlin's review against another edition
4.0
I found the last part of the last poem, "South" (worth the price of the book) to be the most poignant:
"I returned to a country battlefield
where colored troops fought and died--
Port Hudson where their bodies swelled
and blackened beneath the sun--unburied
until earth's green sheet pulled over them,
unmarked by any headstones.
Where the roads, buildings, and monuments
are named to honor the Confederacy,
where the old flags still hangs, I return
to Mississippi, state that made a crime
of me--mulatto, half-breed--native
in my native land, this place they'll bury me."
"I returned to a country battlefield
where colored troops fought and died--
Port Hudson where their bodies swelled
and blackened beneath the sun--unburied
until earth's green sheet pulled over them,
unmarked by any headstones.
Where the roads, buildings, and monuments
are named to honor the Confederacy,
where the old flags still hangs, I return
to Mississippi, state that made a crime
of me--mulatto, half-breed--native
in my native land, this place they'll bury me."
ajsterkel's review against another edition
4.0
Natasha Trethewey is a former United States Poet Laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. She’s biracial and grew up in America’s Deep South. In Native Guard, she writes about her childhood and the racial history of the South.
This collection is probably a good starting point for people who are new to poetry. Most of the poems are narrative. The language is beautiful but not unnecessarily complex. The collection is divided into three sections. My favorite section is the first one, where the author talks about her complicated relationship with her mother. The other two sections focus on Southern history, with an emphasis on race and the Civil War. The poems in the second two sections are well-written and taught me some facts about the war that I didn’t know, but I didn’t find them as compelling as the poems in the first section. That’s just personal preference, though.
My only complaint is that I wish there was more of a connection between the sections. I realize that all the poems are about history (personal or national), but the transitions are a bit jarring. That’s a minor problem. I really like this collection and would recommend it.
This collection is probably a good starting point for people who are new to poetry. Most of the poems are narrative. The language is beautiful but not unnecessarily complex. The collection is divided into three sections. My favorite section is the first one, where the author talks about her complicated relationship with her mother. The other two sections focus on Southern history, with an emphasis on race and the Civil War. The poems in the second two sections are well-written and taught me some facts about the war that I didn’t know, but I didn’t find them as compelling as the poems in the first section. That’s just personal preference, though.
My only complaint is that I wish there was more of a connection between the sections. I realize that all the poems are about history (personal or national), but the transitions are a bit jarring. That’s a minor problem. I really like this collection and would recommend it.
“I was asleep while you were dying.
It’s as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow
I make between my slumber and my waking” – Native Guard
torit's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully captures the complex past of the South. Trethewey writes about her experience clearly and honestly.
hiiiiiinat's review against another edition
5.0
So smart, so thoughtful, so dense in its wisdom. The forms of the poems creating another layer of meaning was such a satisfying aspect of my reading experience. I'm so glad my friend bought this for me as I don't think I would have picked it up myself. I recommend this to anyone, especially people who are intimidated by poetry or don't think it's for them.
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
5.0
Yup. I'm getting back to reading poetry after a long intermission, and books like this are why.
babsduff's review against another edition
5.0
Puts the lie to the cliche that there's nothing left to innovate in formal poetry--clever, tightly structured, surprising.