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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
3.0
The first third was definitely stronger than the rest (except for the last and title poem). I enjoyed it--spent my time reading it leisurely, going back and rereading every time I opened it, etc. The poems are accessible and meaningful, but I'm quite glad to have borrowed my copy rather than paying for it.
dmturner's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I put "Eggs" (p. 59) on the cards we handed out at the memorial picnic for my husband in 2022, but almost all the poems are about grief. Profound miniatures without an extra word, whittled into tiny perfect statues from a vast piece of wood, Ryan's poems are always brilliant. In this collection, a different poem strikes me each time as I progress in my own idiosyncratic grief.
Struck Tree
You could start
to think a struck
tree's new leaves
from up in the
good part would
turn out halves,
but you have to
laugh at yourself;
loss doesn't get
into the subsets
of absolutely
everything.
(p. 62)
Struck Tree
You could start
to think a struck
tree's new leaves
from up in the
good part would
turn out halves,
but you have to
laugh at yourself;
loss doesn't get
into the subsets
of absolutely
everything.
(p. 62)
tomhill's review against another edition
3.0
This didn't resonate with me the way The Best of It did. Perhaps that book sets unrealistic expectations, as The Best of It is, as the title suggests, a collection of the best of Kay Ryan's work and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize. Ryan's trademark style is here, but her phrasing and what imagery there is just didn't capture me the same way. I think Kay Ryan's writing style, when done well, really packs a punch. I was a bit uninspired by most of the poems in Erratic Facts although I continue to admire Ryan's style and have appreciation for how deceptively simple it often seems. My favorite poem was "Velvet":
There are
hills you
long to
touch:
velvet to
the eyes.
So much
is soft
the wrong
size.
There are
hills you
long to
touch:
velvet to
the eyes.
So much
is soft
the wrong
size.
yellow_star's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
Basically I love literary poetry but this stinks.
This is a drudgery of a chapbook. The poems are similar to relatable memes, but they fail at actually being relatable or insightful at all. I'd say they are the shallowest most boring poems I've read, and I used to deal with poems written by children. It has "insightful themes" like: 'inspiration is inspirational, when rocks move it makes me think of feelings moving, have you ever just... trailed off in a tight?' Wow. Much insight. It doesn't sound pretty, it doesn't make you think, and it's not approachable for beginners like "Where The Sidewalk Ends" so I don't see its value for poetry haters or lovers. Why do people call this junk a classic?
The title is also misleading, only two or so poems are about nature.
This is a drudgery of a chapbook. The poems are similar to relatable memes, but they fail at actually being relatable or insightful at all. I'd say they are the shallowest most boring poems I've read, and I used to deal with poems written by children. It has "insightful themes" like: 'inspiration is inspirational, when rocks move it makes me think of feelings moving, have you ever just... trailed off in a tight?' Wow. Much insight. It doesn't sound pretty, it doesn't make you think, and it's not approachable for beginners like "Where The Sidewalk Ends" so I don't see its value for poetry haters or lovers. Why do people call this junk a classic?
The title is also misleading, only two or so poems are about nature.
sam8834's review against another edition
Small poems about big things. Another thought-provoking collection from Kay Ryan.
rumii's review
Favourite Poems in this book:
- Venice
- Fatal Flaw
- Bunched Clothes
- Musical Chairs
- A Trench Like That
- Erratic Facts
kheleyr's review
3.0
I don't read much poetry, but I do like to pick it up once in a while. My favorite of this collection:
The Fatal Flaw
The fatal flaw
works through
the body like
a needle, just
a stick now
and then, again
and again missing
the heart. Most
people never bend
in the fatal way
at the fatal instant,
although they
harbor a needle
they shouldn't,
or, conversely,
some critical little
lifesaving sliver
is absent.
The Fatal Flaw
The fatal flaw
works through
the body like
a needle, just
a stick now
and then, again
and again missing
the heart. Most
people never bend
in the fatal way
at the fatal instant,
although they
harbor a needle
they shouldn't,
or, conversely,
some critical little
lifesaving sliver
is absent.