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snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book because I saw Herrera speak at the Tucson Festival of Books earlier this month, and he was wonderful. I loved the attached CD. Some of his poems are hard to get into, but I love the way he plays with language.
gitli57's review
challenging
informative
reflective
3.75
This compilation was my first exposure to Herrera's work, so I experienced it in sections over about six months. Decades of work is represented here and Herrera's poetry is incredibly varied in style and technique over the course of his career. It sometimes felt I was just starting to latch onto his voice when it would change again. My rating reflects the difficulty I had, not the quality of his poetry. Hopefully, on repeat readings, familiarity will improve the experience. This volume included a companion CD of Herrera reading about twenty of the poems, some in both English and Spanish. It was very helpful to hear his pacing and rhythm
In his earlier work, there is a strong Indigenous (Indios) consciousness, something that is really pretty common in writers who are identified as LatinX. This sensibility did give me a bit of way in. His later work seems to expand into a near universal calling out of those politically responsible for so much human suffering.
This is inventive, uncompromising and at times experimental feeling poetry. If you are up for that, give it a go. It's worth the effort.
In his earlier work, there is a strong Indigenous (Indios) consciousness, something that is really pretty common in writers who are identified as LatinX. This sensibility did give me a bit of way in. His later work seems to expand into a near universal calling out of those politically responsible for so much human suffering.
This is inventive, uncompromising and at times experimental feeling poetry. If you are up for that, give it a go. It's worth the effort.
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