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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
A moving, cohesive poetry collection that will make a poetry lover out of even the most obstinate contrarians. Amanda Gorman is a master at her craft and I can’t wait to see what else she does in her career. The Hill We Climb fits seamlessly into the journey she takes readers on. Written during the pandemic, this collection takes all of the pain, uncertainty, division and concern of the past (almost) two years and lyrically reminds us “you aren’t alone.” It is high-art, and I would recommend everyone read it with an open heart. You’ll receive as much as you give with this one.
4.5 only because in sections where she uses other people’s words in supplement or as the basis for her poetry, it is a little hard to understand how it came to be. There are concise descriptions at the end of each and some notes in the back of the book, but I wish a little more context was given at times.
4.5 only because in sections where she uses other people’s words in supplement or as the basis for her poetry, it is a little hard to understand how it came to be. There are concise descriptions at the end of each and some notes in the back of the book, but I wish a little more context was given at times.
I love listening to Amanda read/perform her work, her voice is absolutely fantastic, but I tend to miss some nuances when listening to poetry, typically with plays on words or moments of emphasis that I just may not get from this format. That said, it's so fun when the author is the reader and I appreciated the current events style of this book (much of it discusses COVID, quarantine, the Biden presidency, etc). A fun short read of modern poetry.
I know I just said I wasn’t going to rate poetry…but this collection took my breath away. I didn’t intend to read it all in one sitting, but I couldn’t help it. Poem after poem, stanza after stanza, line after line jumped out at me. I found myself wishing - and I still wish - that there was some way I could keep all of these beautifully worded fragments of wisdom fresh in my brain. (I guess I’ll just have to frequently reread this…oh darn. How terrible.)
Gorman is so bloody creative and gifted. She played with structure and visuals as well as words. My favorite section of the whole collection was “Atonement,” where she created erasure poetry from historical documents - mostly journals and letters.
This collection is the perfect blend of past and present, of history and shared experiences. It is universal and specific, political and emotional, raw and soft.
Honestly, it might be the best poetry collection I’ve ever read. I think it will be a familiar favorite on my shelves for a long time - maybe even forever. After all, it’s a snapshot in time in a lot of ways, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s studied in history and literature classes in the future (at the very least).
So yeah. I think you should read it.
Gorman is so bloody creative and gifted. She played with structure and visuals as well as words. My favorite section of the whole collection was “Atonement,” where she created erasure poetry from historical documents - mostly journals and letters.
This collection is the perfect blend of past and present, of history and shared experiences. It is universal and specific, political and emotional, raw and soft.
Honestly, it might be the best poetry collection I’ve ever read. I think it will be a familiar favorite on my shelves for a long time - maybe even forever. After all, it’s a snapshot in time in a lot of ways, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s studied in history and literature classes in the future (at the very least).
So yeah. I think you should read it.
Highly recommend audiobook to fully experience where she accentuates certain words and full emotion of her meticulous word choices
I absolutely loved the parallels she draws between the Pandemic and the 1918 Flu to the racism felt back then versus in 2020. Also the split identity of America. Absolutely loved the segment on the Black soldier in WWI in France during the 1918 Pandemic too and the formatting is very interesting.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I don't typically feel super strongly about poetry, but this book brought me straight back into the chaos of 2020-2021--the political climate and protests, COVID-19, and the great uncertainty of when it would be over or back to normal.
Reading this 1 month before the 2024 election is a wild experience.
Reading this 1 month before the 2024 election is a wild experience.