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joshuanovalis's review against another edition
"Real trust is to do so in the clear face of doubt, and to trust is to love. This is my failure, and for this I cannot be forgiven."
This beautiful, evocative line comes just a few moments after a man receives an unreliable pony as a birthday gift and tries to jump it over a river. And that is surrealism at its finest.
I was introduced to Schomburg in grad school when I was assigned his first collection, "The Man Suit," and while it wasn't love at first sight, it slowly grew into one of my favorite books of the year—and one I still return to ("Underneath William Mckinley" is simultaneously hilarious and painful, and depending on the day, it's my poetic epistemology).
Now, a couple years after reading "The Man Suit," it's been nothing short of a pleasure to dive into "Fjords Vol. 1." In this collection, Schomburg's found a novel way to explore icy, heartbreaking visions of death without falling into pretentious angst or flippant nihilism. His subject matter is wholly absurd, and his dry delivery is often hilarious, but within those odd visions, there is an earnest desire to wrestle with notions of truth and love, as well as the unpredictability and inevitability of death.
You won't connect with every piece in this collection, and if you're too concerned with analysis, you'll quickly frustrate yourself. But I loved my time with "Fjords Vol. 1," and I think it's well worth your time. Be sure to check out a few of my favorites below:
"Magazine Stand"
"New Dress Shirt"
"New Job Serving Fried Pies"
"Testy Pony"
"Tiny Castle"
"Costa Rica"
This beautiful, evocative line comes just a few moments after a man receives an unreliable pony as a birthday gift and tries to jump it over a river. And that is surrealism at its finest.
I was introduced to Schomburg in grad school when I was assigned his first collection, "The Man Suit," and while it wasn't love at first sight, it slowly grew into one of my favorite books of the year—and one I still return to ("Underneath William Mckinley" is simultaneously hilarious and painful, and depending on the day, it's my poetic epistemology).
Now, a couple years after reading "The Man Suit," it's been nothing short of a pleasure to dive into "Fjords Vol. 1." In this collection, Schomburg's found a novel way to explore icy, heartbreaking visions of death without falling into pretentious angst or flippant nihilism. His subject matter is wholly absurd, and his dry delivery is often hilarious, but within those odd visions, there is an earnest desire to wrestle with notions of truth and love, as well as the unpredictability and inevitability of death.
You won't connect with every piece in this collection, and if you're too concerned with analysis, you'll quickly frustrate yourself. But I loved my time with "Fjords Vol. 1," and I think it's well worth your time. Be sure to check out a few of my favorites below:
"Magazine Stand"
"New Dress Shirt"
"New Job Serving Fried Pies"
"Testy Pony"
"Tiny Castle"
"Costa Rica"
__kenareads__'s review against another edition
2.0
This was... intriguing. Honestly, not my cup of tea, but since I cannot do half ratings on Goodreads, I'm letting you all know that my rating is actually 2.5 stars. That doesn't seem any better, however, I was still glad to read something beyond what I would normally read, and Schomburg's poems cross boundaries that, to my knowledge, have not been crossed before. He takes subjects like death, insecurity, and love, and twists them into knots that readers have to untangle for themselves. If you pick up this book of poetry, be sure to at least read: "New Dress Shirt", "Tiny Castle", and "Leaving the House".
mountainhomereads's review against another edition
4.0
At first I wasn’t so sure about this poetry. It was outside my usual preferences. The more I read the more it grew on me! The mood was dark and the imagery extremely impactful. I felt like I was picked up and dropped off a building reading these words. The brutality of his poetry was deeply rousing! By the end of most poems I was shaken stirred and poured into a glass! The experience was quite satisfying.
maddykpdx's review against another edition
3.0
May need to reread. All I have to say for now is that the index is amazing.
richardwells's review against another edition
5.0
This is an extraordinary collection in that Zachary Schomburg (a local boy, I hear) has managed to create dreams, with all the surrealism, and logic of the dream world, as little prose poems. There are 57 of them with enough recurring themes that an index is provided, and that little bit of clervrness is part of the charm of the volume.
Dreams aren't easy. Most novelists get them wrong, trying to advance a plot, or laden them with meaning. I know we can find dream reasons and connections to our every day lives, but to me they're mostly vaudeville. Schomburg gets the vaudeville.
I have a suspicion that all kinds of people are going to work through all kinds of analysis in order to find all kinds of meaning in these pieces. The back cover has a line about, "the narrow inlets between the transcendent and the mundane." I don't know what that means. And I don't know what the title has to do with anything (I wouldn't be surprised if i were obtuse, or just missed something in the text,) I do know that Vol. 1 indicates there will be a volume 2, and I look forward to it.
Here's a short example of what you'll find, I think it's a great piece, and though most are twice as long they all hold up for me:
WHAT I DID WITH THE ROCK
I was alone on the beach when I picked up a rock.
I gave it a name and then I stood at the water with
the rock in my hand. I gave it your name. It felt
right - warm and cold at the same time - but I threw it
as far as I could and never saw it splash. What
have I done? I asked. I stood there waiting for the
rock to wash up. About 14,000 days later I died.
Dreams aren't easy. Most novelists get them wrong, trying to advance a plot, or laden them with meaning. I know we can find dream reasons and connections to our every day lives, but to me they're mostly vaudeville. Schomburg gets the vaudeville.
I have a suspicion that all kinds of people are going to work through all kinds of analysis in order to find all kinds of meaning in these pieces. The back cover has a line about, "the narrow inlets between the transcendent and the mundane." I don't know what that means. And I don't know what the title has to do with anything (I wouldn't be surprised if i were obtuse, or just missed something in the text,) I do know that Vol. 1 indicates there will be a volume 2, and I look forward to it.
Here's a short example of what you'll find, I think it's a great piece, and though most are twice as long they all hold up for me:
WHAT I DID WITH THE ROCK
I was alone on the beach when I picked up a rock.
I gave it a name and then I stood at the water with
the rock in my hand. I gave it your name. It felt
right - warm and cold at the same time - but I threw it
as far as I could and never saw it splash. What
have I done? I asked. I stood there waiting for the
rock to wash up. About 14,000 days later I died.
joshuabohnsack's review against another edition
5.0
I've had this book for more than a year and while reading it was mad at myself for not reading it sooner.
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