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A review by ellelainey
Love, Death. And Other Poems by Beau Van Dalen
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Trigger warnings provided by the author:
death, body horror, violence, childbirth/pregnancy, implied abuse, gore, suicide ideation
~
Love, Death. And Other Poems is an incredible collection of story-based poetry by a new-to-me-author. Beau Van Dalen was recommended to me, with his story White, but I've been short on reading time lately, so I thought I'd start with this book of poetry. It was a good decision.
I haven't read much poetry over the last few years, and I've always been a fan of the story-based type from the likes of Robert Burns and Philip Larkin, so the concept of this collection really appealed to me. Every poem in the first half is about love, rebirth and has a theme of reincarnation, while the second half is slightly more emotive and darker. Personally, I felt the first half was about someone going through the cycles of rebirth, searching for a place to belong, a place that made them want to stay, while the second half felt more parasitic. The second half was definitely darker, moodier and more like a toxic host killing others for the chance to live again. It made for a great juxtaposition of character and theme.
While I preferred the 'story' of the first half, the entire book held some great gems of poetry that I'd read again. I could see some of them being perfect for a live show, such as spoken word or beat poetry performances. Some of them have that repetitive feel with large gaps of tension and the pause of anticipation that would come across brilliantly as spoken poetry or in an audio book.
Though it's short, this is one that I'd love to have in paperback, because I'd read most of the poems again, individually as well as within the collection.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
* meet me in sleep, i don't want to see them anymore
* hidden
* creatures of fragility
* house of Nightmares
* bullets, loaded in a gun of teeth
* love, the room
Favourite Quote:
"love was like an empty room
and all i was left with
were the scars from moving in"
death, body horror, violence, childbirth/pregnancy, implied abuse, gore, suicide ideation
~
Love, Death. And Other Poems is an incredible collection of story-based poetry by a new-to-me-author. Beau Van Dalen was recommended to me, with his story White, but I've been short on reading time lately, so I thought I'd start with this book of poetry. It was a good decision.
I haven't read much poetry over the last few years, and I've always been a fan of the story-based type from the likes of Robert Burns and Philip Larkin, so the concept of this collection really appealed to me. Every poem in the first half is about love, rebirth and has a theme of reincarnation, while the second half is slightly more emotive and darker. Personally, I felt the first half was about someone going through the cycles of rebirth, searching for a place to belong, a place that made them want to stay, while the second half felt more parasitic. The second half was definitely darker, moodier and more like a toxic host killing others for the chance to live again. It made for a great juxtaposition of character and theme.
While I preferred the 'story' of the first half, the entire book held some great gems of poetry that I'd read again. I could see some of them being perfect for a live show, such as spoken word or beat poetry performances. Some of them have that repetitive feel with large gaps of tension and the pause of anticipation that would come across brilliantly as spoken poetry or in an audio book.
Though it's short, this is one that I'd love to have in paperback, because I'd read most of the poems again, individually as well as within the collection.
Here are some of my personal favourites:
* meet me in sleep, i don't want to see them anymore
* hidden
* creatures of fragility
* house of Nightmares
* bullets, loaded in a gun of teeth
* love, the room
Favourite Quote:
"love was like an empty room
and all i was left with
were the scars from moving in"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gore, Body horror, and Domestic abuse