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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
It's been too long since I've read anything from the prolific Joyce Carol Oates, and American Melancholy proved to be the perfect re-introduction to her work. Oates' voice is always clear, unambiguous, and strong, and poetry is a medium well-suited to her talents, as in these lines from "This Is not a Poem":
Instead it is a slew
of words in search
of a container -
a sleek green stalk,
a transparent lung,
a single hair's curl,
a cooing of vowels
like doves.
Several other poems in this collection really spoke to me, including "To Marlon Brando in Hell" and "This is the Time for Which We Have Been Waiting", a mediation on the death of William Carlos Williams. But it's "Hatefugue" that I think will really stick with me, as Oates brilliantly expresses the deep longing of a soul who laments a world so often held captive to the follies of egoists, fools, and brutes:
And most, I hate that the bullies & thugs are the prime movers,
whose polished boots set all into motion,
swinging pendulum that never ceases
once set
into motion.
Instead it is a slew
of words in search
of a container -
a sleek green stalk,
a transparent lung,
a single hair's curl,
a cooing of vowels
like doves.
Several other poems in this collection really spoke to me, including "To Marlon Brando in Hell" and "This is the Time for Which We Have Been Waiting", a mediation on the death of William Carlos Williams. But it's "Hatefugue" that I think will really stick with me, as Oates brilliantly expresses the deep longing of a soul who laments a world so often held captive to the follies of egoists, fools, and brutes:
And most, I hate that the bullies & thugs are the prime movers,
whose polished boots set all into motion,
swinging pendulum that never ceases
once set
into motion.
I was torn between a four-star rating and a five-star rating because these poems are not easy to read. They hold a mirror up to history, current events, and pop culture and what is reflected is not only not flattering, but slightly perturbing...definitely haunting.
When describing this collection to a friend I described it as the equivalent of rubbernecking. You don't really want to see anything too gruesome, but your neck instinctively turns to see the wreckage.
When describing this collection to a friend I described it as the equivalent of rubbernecking. You don't really want to see anything too gruesome, but your neck instinctively turns to see the wreckage.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
DNF @ 56%
Because I can't get into the writing style because it is choppy at times.
Because I don't care about psychological experiments that go on for pages or the story of a couple that dies in the ice.
Because I am getting tired of the word Because.
Because here it is again, that f***ing word again.
Because too many poems have this structure and form where it is a series of Because statements as though they answer a damn thing or bring up relevant information.
Because I don't need to sit here and hate myself for reading a poem I feel is way too long and lacks focus.
Because this is my first experience with the author and I don't want to hate her writing after only a single book of poetry.
Because this is my first experience with the author and I don't want to hate her writing after only a single book of poetry.
And so, I stop.
Gotta be honest. I listened to this on Scribd to see how poems sounded rather than reading them. Didn’t like the experience and it probably negatively effected the rating.
Didn’t overly connect with most of the poems but I did love the Brando one.
Didn’t overly connect with most of the poems but I did love the Brando one.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced