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raloveridge's review against another edition
4.0
Read bits and pieces of this--odd that he's not really read very widely anymore, I think he could really jive with contemporary poets.
cub_jones's review against another edition
5.0
None are bad, many are quite good, and a significant number are incredible. I think this bridges the intensities and wild, sublime visions of the Romantics with the passions of the modern era with all it's post-war bitterness, desolation and existential horror. Something else that's extremely pleasurable for me is the use of out-of-fashion, pre-20th century strict formats and rhyming schemes that give his work a sometimes chanting, often haunting lyricism linked with a long past. Damn, what a poet.
rhaines46's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Probably good I guess. No way to know for sure
graywacke's review against another edition
3.5
As a not very good poetry reader, I just never felt I linked into this. It had its moments, some very meaningful to me. But much felt to me like not very much about very much. Seems likely I missed a lot, including the heart of this life's work.
daniels_books's review against another edition
5.0
Hot damn, what a fantastic collection of poetry.
The best of Justice seems to come at the beginning and the end of this collection. I wish I could describe what sets his good poems apart from his forgettable ones, but I simply can’t. What I can tell you is that it’s evident that Justice pays close attention to form. He seems to love working with repetition, and perhaps that is where the beauty of his poems really lie. Life is so repetitive, after all. It adds up to some sort of quiet meditation. The best come out appearing timeless and classic, and more often than not, melancholic and nostalgic.
One of my favorite poems is “Southern Gothic,” a poem that presents a confusion over the decay of the South and the vague memories of what should be there, but is not. Trellises are “too frail almost to bear/ The memory of a rose, much less a rose.” The ending sticks with me:
“No damask any more prevents the moon,
But it unravels, peeling from a wall,
Red roses within roses within roses.”
The best of Justice seems to come at the beginning and the end of this collection. I wish I could describe what sets his good poems apart from his forgettable ones, but I simply can’t. What I can tell you is that it’s evident that Justice pays close attention to form. He seems to love working with repetition, and perhaps that is where the beauty of his poems really lie. Life is so repetitive, after all. It adds up to some sort of quiet meditation. The best come out appearing timeless and classic, and more often than not, melancholic and nostalgic.
One of my favorite poems is “Southern Gothic,” a poem that presents a confusion over the decay of the South and the vague memories of what should be there, but is not. Trellises are “too frail almost to bear/ The memory of a rose, much less a rose.” The ending sticks with me:
“No damask any more prevents the moon,
But it unravels, peeling from a wall,
Red roses within roses within roses.”
dchaudh's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I just rated it down because we spent so long on it in class.
brucemcguffin's review
2.0
A few very good poems, a number of so-so poems. But then, with a few exceptions my tastes run more towards traditional poetry. Pre-modern poetry? Whatever you call poetry that isn't modern. Metrical poetry.
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