Reviews

What Poets Are Like: Up and Down with the Writing Life by Gary Soto

drewcy5a's review

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borrowed this from a friend didn’t get to finish

bookboyslife's review

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4.0

3.5

nathan_hetrick's review

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5.0

(I received this book free as an Advance Review Copy, or Galley Copy.)

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections as well as other works, and a finalist for the National Book Award. This collection, however, is not poetry. It is, instead, a look into Soto's thoughts. It is both entertaining and heartfelt. This book is a collection of vignettes, most about 1-2 pages long. Some are funny, others are touching, and a few are scratch-your-head "what?", but all are entertaining. Those who are struggling artists of all types - musicians, poets, authors, painters, sculptors - will be able to relate to his stories about getting published and earning a living doing what you love while feeling that some, if not most people, undervalue your work. You will also relate in that he acknowledges that some of the work that creative people produce is, in my words, garbage. Thankfully, this book is absent of all garbage, and I look forward to reading his works of poetry in the future. Recommended for those who enjoy biographies, memoirs, as well as poetry.
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