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A review by duffypratt
Selected Poems & Letters of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
2.0
Bees and calvary.
I wanted to like this more than I did. The poems are short and sharp. The language plain -- understandable on the surface at least, by anyone who speaks English and can think. You don't even need access to a dictionary. And on top of that, she isn't squarely on the university list of "to read" poets (or wasn't when I was at university). In these ways, I have always thought she had a place somewhat akin to, say, Dylan Thomas, or maybe Frost.
And yet, mostly these poems left me feeling a bit cold. I rarely felt moved. More frequently, I was struck by something as being clever or well put. But that's not what I look for in a poem. And for whatever reason, these poems didn't hit me on a deeper level.
I wanted to like this more than I did. The poems are short and sharp. The language plain -- understandable on the surface at least, by anyone who speaks English and can think. You don't even need access to a dictionary. And on top of that, she isn't squarely on the university list of "to read" poets (or wasn't when I was at university). In these ways, I have always thought she had a place somewhat akin to, say, Dylan Thomas, or maybe Frost.
And yet, mostly these poems left me feeling a bit cold. I rarely felt moved. More frequently, I was struck by something as being clever or well put. But that's not what I look for in a poem. And for whatever reason, these poems didn't hit me on a deeper level.