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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
when it hits, it HITS. when it misses, it unfortunately misses greatly. i dnf’ed it
This is my first book of poetry by Joyce and it has some heavy words in it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
I can hardly believe how deprived I have been to never have known about Joyce Carol Oates’ poetry. Long accustomed to thinking of her as a writer of novels, which of course she is, it never occurred to me that there might be much more to her immense talent and output than prose alone. What a revelation and a joy to have discovered her poetic talent with this volume, American Melancholy. These poems are riveting, and this book is among the best poetry collections I’ve read in a while.
There are three poems near the beginning of the book: Little Albert, Harlowe’s Monkeys, and Obedience, which share a theme of scientific research in a deeply moving and surprisingly disturbing way. I was fascinated. There are also several slightly longer poems here, like Too Young to Marry But Not Too Young to Die, A Dream of Stopped Up Drains, and Bloodline Elegy, which read like short stories, so compelling is the narrative of each. Cat lovers, this reviewer included, are sure to appreciate Jubilate: An Homage in Catterel Verse, a delightful reworking of language in celebration of all things feline and wonderful.
I’d have been delighted if this book had been twice as long. That’s how good these poems are.
There are three poems near the beginning of the book: Little Albert, Harlowe’s Monkeys, and Obedience, which share a theme of scientific research in a deeply moving and surprisingly disturbing way. I was fascinated. There are also several slightly longer poems here, like Too Young to Marry But Not Too Young to Die, A Dream of Stopped Up Drains, and Bloodline Elegy, which read like short stories, so compelling is the narrative of each. Cat lovers, this reviewer included, are sure to appreciate Jubilate: An Homage in Catterel Verse, a delightful reworking of language in celebration of all things feline and wonderful.
I’d have been delighted if this book had been twice as long. That’s how good these poems are.
I randomly picked it up at the library so maybe I wasn’t as committed to it as I should’ve been but, I couldn’t finish it. The writing just wasn’t my style. It was too direct, and for a poetry collection, not poetic enough. If I would’ve finished it, I would’ve given it 2 stars. Would be a good poetry book for somebody not into poetry.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Lovely poems as usual but a very sad group of them.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Her tweets are honestly better. But I feel the loss of her husband here. In general could have been better edited because of the repetition