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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
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.
reflective
medium-paced
medium-paced
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.
Small poems about big things. Another thought-provoking collection from Kay Ryan.
Favourite Poems in this book:
- Venice
- Fatal Flaw
- Bunched Clothes
- Musical Chairs
- A Trench Like That
- Erratic Facts
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
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.
It was a bit heartbreaking to read this chronicle of loss, but I'm glad I did. Dynamic Scaling, Musical Chairs, and My Kingdom For A Horse are my favorites.
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced