alisarae 's review for:

The Woman I Kept to Myself by Julia Alvarez

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These poems are not dense or hard to understand. They are very easy to read before bed, like Billy Collins (she even refers to him in one poem)

All the poems are 3 stanzas of 10 lines with 10 syllables per line (I don't know the special term for this structure). Sometimese there are rhymes or clever turns of phrase within lines ("saucy salsa songs"), but it's not often. Alavarez is more concerned with the structre.

There are some poems about trees (meh), growing up as an immigrant in NYC (interesting! With some Spanish words sometimes!), a few poems about being an adult woman (meh), and her love of words and poetry (her love is honestly contagious).

My favorite poems in this collection are:
- MY BOTTOM LINE
- TONE
- "POETRY MAKES NOTHING HAPPEN"?

Hold on tight! could be the first commandment / for this life, and the second, Let it go! / Only the empty hand is free to hold.