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lwalla01's review against another edition
4.0
I started this collection a long time ago. It is a short, but dense collection that requires patience, a Spanish-English dictionary, and multiple readings. Many of these poems have been published elsewhere, but come together in a nice collection. It's fitting that I finished this book on Morher's Day and read "Ruth" a poem dedicated and about his ailing mother. As someone new to poetry, I'll need to revisit this after some time and space.
gaybf's review against another edition
5.0
favorite quotes:
From “Beckoned” (edited by Ben Lerner)
- At which point the driver turned and said it doesn’t need to be your fault for it to break you. (...) at which point I grew old and it was like ripping open the beehive with my hands again.
- Entenderment
- On a sentence
- First ballad
From “Tell them no”:
- So hard—no
- Matter how bad
- Expressed—
- Your own or
- Other’s pain,
- Undressed—to
- Turn from.
- The flowers I
- Pick too
- Late hiss
- In the case,
- Missing you.
- when what is
- Demanded is
- Change so
- Fundamental
- Only another
- Personality could
- Accomplish it.
- have I lived
- Something stupid?
- Am I the coward
- Responsible for
- Nothing?
- Ruth
From “Littoral Zone”/Entrance:
- Struck by the pointlessness of comparison, but what more can one want? For seeing not to degenerate into habit? And what if the demands for another kind of seeing cannot be regarded as what we take to be “seeing”? As one turns away, the retained image vitiates what swings into view.
From “Beckoned” (edited by Ben Lerner)
- At which point the driver turned and said it doesn’t need to be your fault for it to break you. (...) at which point I grew old and it was like ripping open the beehive with my hands again.
- Entenderment
- On a sentence
- First ballad
From “Tell them no”:
- So hard—no
- Matter how bad
- Expressed—
- Your own or
- Other’s pain,
- Undressed—to
- Turn from.
- The flowers I
- Pick too
- Late hiss
- In the case,
- Missing you.
- when what is
- Demanded is
- Change so
- Fundamental
- Only another
- Personality could
- Accomplish it.
- have I lived
- Something stupid?
- Am I the coward
- Responsible for
- Nothing?
- Ruth
From “Littoral Zone”/Entrance:
- Struck by the pointlessness of comparison, but what more can one want? For seeing not to degenerate into habit? And what if the demands for another kind of seeing cannot be regarded as what we take to be “seeing”? As one turns away, the retained image vitiates what swings into view.
kbubs14's review against another edition
2.0
Some memorable passages on grief, otherwise too avant garde for my taste.
nc_exlibris's review against another edition
2.0
Nothing spoke. Mute & uninteresting. Disappointing.
wonderfool's review against another edition
4.0
Truly loved a few of these, others just didn't catch. His style of each piece is surprisingly various, but most are tightly knit and distinctively peculiar in individual vernacular, which I adore in poetry. My favorite was On A Sentence By Fernanda Melchor.
debo03's review
This is the first collection of poetry I sought out on my own (you know, after compulsory school-readings and all). So as of yet, I don’t really know how reading poetry for pleasure really works, hence no rating.
There were poems I could not grasp at all. Neither their meanings nor their essence. And then there was “Ruth”, which connected so well with experiences of my own and there was “Tell Them No”, which touched me deeply and was profoundly emotional. So I guess that’s how it is, you get a mixed bag and you connect with what you can, yes?
There were poems I could not grasp at all. Neither their meanings nor their essence. And then there was “Ruth”, which connected so well with experiences of my own and there was “Tell Them No”, which touched me deeply and was profoundly emotional. So I guess that’s how it is, you get a mixed bag and you connect with what you can, yes?
elle_reads's review
4.0
Instagram @elle_reads
MINI BOOK REVIEW
[Be With]
An eclectic mix of poems ranging from the author’s experience with his mother’s Alzheimers to his views on the American-Mexian boarder.
I loved Forrest Gander’s play with structure throughout his book. I could feel E.E. Cumming’s presence. My favorite poem is “On a Sentence by Fernanda Melchor.” “¿Qué es lo más cabrón que te ha pasado en la vida?” Gander’s answer: the routine of everyday life and a conversation with a spider. ⚡️4/5
MINI BOOK REVIEW
[Be With]
An eclectic mix of poems ranging from the author’s experience with his mother’s Alzheimers to his views on the American-Mexian boarder.
I loved Forrest Gander’s play with structure throughout his book. I could feel E.E. Cumming’s presence. My favorite poem is “On a Sentence by Fernanda Melchor.” “¿Qué es lo más cabrón que te ha pasado en la vida?” Gander’s answer: the routine of everyday life and a conversation with a spider. ⚡️4/5