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A review by brice_mo
Spectral Evidence: Poems by Gregory Pardlo
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC!
Poetry is often instinctual or academic, and Spectral Evidence leans toward the latter while not betraying the former. This is a book that feels intensely researched, and Gregory Pardlo offers almost too much history for the reader to process. Maybe that’s the point—the full weight of the issues is felt when it’s impossible to compartmentalize or reduce it.
I think the best poetry moves the reader in some way, and this book is one that will doubtless move people to read more. I especially found the comparison between Teresa Avíla and Lindsay Lohan moving, but more than that—it made me aware of how little I knew about much of the book’s subject matter. I finished with countless notes about things I wanted to look up and lines I wanted to revisit, and I’m sure many readers will have a similar experience.
I also really enjoyed the book’s introduction, which is a thoughtful walk through the book’s guiding premise. It immediately alerts the reader to how intentional this collection is. Similarly, the poems themselves are dense in a way that encourages readers to spend time with them.
For readers who might be on the fence about diving in, I encourage them to read the paired poems “Question and Answer” and “Know Yourselves.” Here is where Pardlo directly interrogates his responsibility both to himself and those impacted by the history and politics he invokes, and I think they complement the introduction in laying out a better understanding of the book’s thesis.
Overall, a great collection. I hadn’t read anything by Gregory Pardlo, but this instantly bumped his memoir to the top of my reading list.
Poetry is often instinctual or academic, and Spectral Evidence leans toward the latter while not betraying the former. This is a book that feels intensely researched, and Gregory Pardlo offers almost too much history for the reader to process. Maybe that’s the point—the full weight of the issues is felt when it’s impossible to compartmentalize or reduce it.
I think the best poetry moves the reader in some way, and this book is one that will doubtless move people to read more. I especially found the comparison between Teresa Avíla and Lindsay Lohan moving, but more than that—it made me aware of how little I knew about much of the book’s subject matter. I finished with countless notes about things I wanted to look up and lines I wanted to revisit, and I’m sure many readers will have a similar experience.
I also really enjoyed the book’s introduction, which is a thoughtful walk through the book’s guiding premise. It immediately alerts the reader to how intentional this collection is. Similarly, the poems themselves are dense in a way that encourages readers to spend time with them.
For readers who might be on the fence about diving in, I encourage them to read the paired poems “Question and Answer” and “Know Yourselves.” Here is where Pardlo directly interrogates his responsibility both to himself and those impacted by the history and politics he invokes, and I think they complement the introduction in laying out a better understanding of the book’s thesis.
Overall, a great collection. I hadn’t read anything by Gregory Pardlo, but this instantly bumped his memoir to the top of my reading list.