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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I read this as part of a book flight suggested by the What Should I read Next pod cast/blog. It felt a little depressing to me, though there are a few that are meaningful poems. The setting is the graveyard and the deceased are speaking of their lives. A different type of verse/poetry that many people have enjoyed.
The books in the flight were:
How To Read A Book by Monica Wood
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Murders in the Rue Morgue &Other Works by Edgar Allan Poe
The books in the flight were:
How To Read A Book by Monica Wood
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Murders in the Rue Morgue &Other Works by Edgar Allan Poe
My husband and I read this to each other sporadically over the course of a few years during our daytime rest breaks. Neither of us has any talent for poetry comprehension, but enough of it was accessible for us to get the bulk of what Masters was saying.
Of course, the story behind this work is equally fascinating. Masters had some serious guts.
I highly recommend Richard Buckner’s The Hill as a sonic accompaniment.
Of course, the story behind this work is equally fascinating. Masters had some serious guts.
I highly recommend Richard Buckner’s The Hill as a sonic accompaniment.
reflective
fast-paced
Dead people from the little town of Spoon River take turns either complaining about their own lives, or talking shit about each other, so it made me a little nostalgic for my hometown. There is maybe a handful of souls in all of Spoon River's cemetery that are actually content with how life went (and the one that comes to mind, Lois Spears, was blind and her father was an adulterer and probably died from an STD).
The best poems in this are those that catalog the network of lives, juxtaposed with one another for both a nice comedic, as well as reflective, effect (I like how one guy who just complains that he isn't even from Spoon River. He was buried there by accident). The anthology flags down quite a bit towards the end, though, when Masters uses the ghosts as not very subtle mouthpieces for philosophy and politics, and the quality of the poems noticeably drop. But Masters won me back at the Epilogue which is...peculiar, to say the least.
So if you can get your hands on Spoon River, I recommend the 1916 edition, or else you'll miss such great scenes like Loki and the Devil making little humans and putting on a play for the dead of Spoon River.
The best poems in this are those that catalog the network of lives, juxtaposed with one another for both a nice comedic, as well as reflective, effect (I like how one guy who just complains that he isn't even from Spoon River. He was buried there by accident). The anthology flags down quite a bit towards the end, though, when Masters uses the ghosts as not very subtle mouthpieces for philosophy and politics, and the quality of the poems noticeably drop. But Masters won me back at the Epilogue which is...peculiar, to say the least.
So if you can get your hands on Spoon River, I recommend the 1916 edition, or else you'll miss such great scenes like Loki and the Devil making little humans and putting on a play for the dead of Spoon River.
reflective
slow-paced
dark
funny
It was surprisingly entertaining. It's made up of epitaphs that when combined give you a glimpse into the small town. Some were really funny.
This anthology took me in to so many perspectives. As I was reading it, I sometimes needed to pause and think of what I read. Some of the poems were soul catching and I lobed it so much. 244 poems does seem like a lot but the insight you will attend is truly amazing.
I only gave the book three stars because it is not something I chose to read. It is not something I would recommend for people in general.