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greeeta's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
As the first poetry book I truly read, I really was invested in this collection.
ilikemywhiskysweet's review
2.0
Perhaps contemporary poetry is not for me, but I respect the author's courage to write about themes of such intimate character.
The one I liked the most:
"THE CONTRACT SAYS: WE’D LIKE THE CONVERSATION TO BE BILINGUAL"
The one I liked the most:
"THE CONTRACT SAYS: WE’D LIKE THE CONVERSATION TO BE BILINGUAL"
blackbearbookclub's review
5.0
Perfection. As if Ada is capable of giving us anything less than…
Her poetry feels necessary and when you read it, you realize that you have lived without it for too long.
Her poetry feels necessary and when you read it, you realize that you have lived without it for too long.
ada_elisabeth's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Another day, another piece of required reading that I actually rather enjoyed. Something about this year's English curriculum is surprisingly good. I really, really enjoyed this.
Hardly do I read official, published poetry. Occasionally I hop on the Poetry Foundation's website to read the poem of the day or read the writing of the other teenagers or something written in the fifteen hundreds, but it was really nice to read a collection of work from a well-known poet rather than Shakespeare or a fourteen-year-old girl.
In school we were only assigned a few of the poems centering on grief, love, family, and the American Dream, which have been focuses of the course thus far. I read the entire thing in probably, like, half an hour and really liked it. Ada Limon's writing is so lyrical and well thought out and filled with the most amazing imagery. The intention that went into each and every poem is so evident, and the way she writes makes every stanza seem nearly tangible. It's difficult to pick a favorite in such an impressive collection, but I really enjoyed The Vulture & The Body, Dead Stars, The Real Reason, Notes on the Below, On a Lamppost Long Ago, The Last Thing, Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air, and Cannibal Woman. (I know that's a lot, but they were all amazing!)
The only critique I have is that it's somewhat hit-or-miss. About half of the poems are stunning and breathtaking, and another twenty or twenty-five percent are really, really great, but the rest didn't do it for me. Some of them almost felt like afterthoughts, or as though they were written by a teenager, which is never really a good thing. (Not to say that teenagers can't be good writers-- they definitely can be. But they lack the maturity and lived experience that gives the work of adult writers such texture and depth.) I don't think I would've minded this sort of juvenile feeling if the rest of the collection hadn't been so good, though.
"Perhaps we are always hurtling our bodies toward/the thing that will obliterate us, begging for love/from the speeding passage of time, and so maybe,/like the dog obedient at my heels, we can walk togetger/peacefully, at least until the next truck comes."
5/5 stars. Poetry is like music without the sound. I love it.
(P.S. Shout out to my name twin, Ada Limon, for this one lol. It's Ada + Ada v. the world.)
Hardly do I read official, published poetry. Occasionally I hop on the Poetry Foundation's website to read the poem of the day or read the writing of the other teenagers or something written in the fifteen hundreds, but it was really nice to read a collection of work from a well-known poet rather than Shakespeare or a fourteen-year-old girl.
In school we were only assigned a few of the poems centering on grief, love, family, and the American Dream, which have been focuses of the course thus far. I read the entire thing in probably, like, half an hour and really liked it. Ada Limon's writing is so lyrical and well thought out and filled with the most amazing imagery. The intention that went into each and every poem is so evident, and the way she writes makes every stanza seem nearly tangible. It's difficult to pick a favorite in such an impressive collection, but I really enjoyed The Vulture & The Body, Dead Stars, The Real Reason, Notes on the Below, On a Lamppost Long Ago, The Last Thing, Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air, and Cannibal Woman. (I know that's a lot, but they were all amazing!)
The only critique I have is that it's somewhat hit-or-miss. About half of the poems are stunning and breathtaking, and another twenty or twenty-five percent are really, really great, but the rest didn't do it for me. Some of them almost felt like afterthoughts, or as though they were written by a teenager, which is never really a good thing. (Not to say that teenagers can't be good writers-- they definitely can be. But they lack the maturity and lived experience that gives the work of adult writers such texture and depth.) I don't think I would've minded this sort of juvenile feeling if the rest of the collection hadn't been so good, though.
"Perhaps we are always hurtling our bodies toward/the thing that will obliterate us, begging for love/from the speeding passage of time, and so maybe,/like the dog obedient at my heels, we can walk togetger/peacefully, at least until the next truck comes."
5/5 stars. Poetry is like music without the sound. I love it.
(P.S. Shout out to my name twin, Ada Limon, for this one lol. It's Ada + Ada v. the world.)
rustedtrains's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
4.5