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A review by bookswithmaddi
When You Ask Me Where I'm Going by Jasmin Kaur
3.0
[3 stars ]
I’m realizing more and more as I delve further into poetry how much I really dislike “Instagram poetry”. I feel like no matter who it’s by it all sounds the same to me. I thought that this collection had a lot of timely, unique, important ideas. I enjoyed reading the pieces on race and injustice (perhaps enjoyed isn’t the right word as they spoke about horrible things, but these were the ones I found the most interesting). I think it’s because it’s a topic I haven’t seen covered much in poetry in the way it was here, at least the poetry I’ve read. I liked how it drew from personal experience, how you could feel kaur’s anger and betrayal through the pages.
My main criticism of this book was the pieces which talked about love and relationships and things along that line; they just didn’t feel original to me. A lot of them felt overdone like I had heard it before in another collection. I spent a lot of this book appreciating her diction and prose but not connecting to it because of the format it was in. I think her writing would be so well suited to a collection of short stories or essays. I would read that so fast. I feel like kaur has really important things to say, and the talent to say it, I just think she wrote it in the wrong medium. I genuinely think short stories or essays would work so well for her writing style.
Also, I realize there actually was a short story in the middle of this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I thought it was too short like there was more to be said and it was cut off. I hope kaur continues in this strain of writing in the future.
Overall, I genuinely appreciated this collection. It said very important things, especially about racism and current issues along that strain. Kaur’s voice is an undeniably powerful one. I truly believe she will only get better from here and I can’t wait to see what that is.
I’m realizing more and more as I delve further into poetry how much I really dislike “Instagram poetry”. I feel like no matter who it’s by it all sounds the same to me. I thought that this collection had a lot of timely, unique, important ideas. I enjoyed reading the pieces on race and injustice (perhaps enjoyed isn’t the right word as they spoke about horrible things, but these were the ones I found the most interesting). I think it’s because it’s a topic I haven’t seen covered much in poetry in the way it was here, at least the poetry I’ve read. I liked how it drew from personal experience, how you could feel kaur’s anger and betrayal through the pages.
My main criticism of this book was the pieces which talked about love and relationships and things along that line; they just didn’t feel original to me. A lot of them felt overdone like I had heard it before in another collection. I spent a lot of this book appreciating her diction and prose but not connecting to it because of the format it was in. I think her writing would be so well suited to a collection of short stories or essays. I would read that so fast. I feel like kaur has really important things to say, and the talent to say it, I just think she wrote it in the wrong medium. I genuinely think short stories or essays would work so well for her writing style.
Also, I realize there actually was a short story in the middle of this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I thought it was too short like there was more to be said and it was cut off. I hope kaur continues in this strain of writing in the future.
Overall, I genuinely appreciated this collection. It said very important things, especially about racism and current issues along that strain. Kaur’s voice is an undeniably powerful one. I truly believe she will only get better from here and I can’t wait to see what that is.