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syadzwanie's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death and Grief
sayruh90's review
5.0
Highlights:
“Those Times...”
“Walking in Paris”
“Wanting to Die”
“Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman”
“Self in 1958”
“The Addict”
“Those Times...”
“Walking in Paris”
“Wanting to Die”
“Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman”
“Self in 1958”
“The Addict”
balancinghistorybooks's review
3.0
Live or Die is Anne Sexton's fourth collection of poetry. I'd not read any of her work before, but had a feeling that I would love it. There were some poems here which I didn't much like, I must admit, but others far made up for them. There are so many interesting ideas and themes at play throughout, and her tribute to Sylvia Plath was quite beautiful. The downside for me was that there was too much religious imagery included for my personal liking.
carolinemeow's review
3.0
3.75 - I don't deny that Sexton is a skilled poet, but rounded down because she's really not my style and a lot of it just didn't resonate with me. Although to be fair the fixation on death is super relatable, thanks Sexton. A lot of the "eh, can't sympathize that much" might also come from the fact that while I am totally aware you can like the writing of a person who's said/done terrible things without condoning those things or liking the person (hi, Neruda!), a poem like "Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman" is a lot harder to stomach knowing that the daughter she's writing about is one she sexually abused.
Anyway, in terms of confessional poetry, I enjoyed Ariel a lot more. Not a fan of excessive parallelism or rhyming in poetry, so I guess it's more of a personal thing.
Anyway, in terms of confessional poetry, I enjoyed Ariel a lot more. Not a fan of excessive parallelism or rhyming in poetry, so I guess it's more of a personal thing.