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A review by pangnaolin
Pilgrim Bell: Poems by Kaveh Akbar
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Akbar is an absolutely wonderful poet. I was reeled in instantly by his concise & impactful imagery, playfulness with language, unique voice, and incredible ability to weave each theme and idea he introduced together seamlessly.
Each line captures his unique perspective and emotions toward his family, faith, politics, history, and his own evolution as a human. Overall, I felt Pilgrim Bell was a musing on how we interact with spirituality and religion and its correlation with how subject we are to subjugation and callousness (or even vicious hate). Akbar is not afraid to point out what he sees and call it what it is, bluntly yet creatively.
Of course, this wasn't an easy read by any means (though it'd be a quick and likely quite fruitless one if you're someone who doesn't spend much time on reading a poem), but it certainly was worth it. Truly, as much as I connected to and love this work, I doubt I caught half of what he worked into each piece. I know I will be drawn to reread this book over and over again, and that I'll learn more each time. I would absolutely encourage you to do the same.
Note: The reason for a star off my rating of this work is purely due to the fact that it didn't personally impact me as much as other books I've rated more than 4 stars. On its own measure of just quality, I would certainly rate it higher, but this isn't just about that for me-- it's also about how much I enjoyed it, however rational or not.
Each line captures his unique perspective and emotions toward his family, faith, politics, history, and his own evolution as a human. Overall, I felt Pilgrim Bell was a musing on how we interact with spirituality and religion and its correlation with how subject we are to subjugation and callousness (or even vicious hate). Akbar is not afraid to point out what he sees and call it what it is, bluntly yet creatively.
Of course, this wasn't an easy read by any means (though it'd be a quick and likely quite fruitless one if you're someone who doesn't spend much time on reading a poem), but it certainly was worth it. Truly, as much as I connected to and love this work, I doubt I caught half of what he worked into each piece. I know I will be drawn to reread this book over and over again, and that I'll learn more each time. I would absolutely encourage you to do the same.
Note: The reason for a star off my rating of this work is purely due to the fact that it didn't personally impact me as much as other books I've rated more than 4 stars. On its own measure of just quality, I would certainly rate it higher, but this isn't just about that for me-- it's also about how much I enjoyed it, however rational or not.