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A review by norrell
Crush by Richard Siken
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.25
“Crush” is full of:
a. hands
b. glass
c. death and blood
d. knives and guns
e. stars
+the language of passion, mourning and violence
etc.
It’s also really gay.
All of this half-joking sentiment aside - the language is accessible and sometimes surprisingly rich, the thoughts not so much. Funnily enough, roughly half of the lines perplexed me while the other half seemed so… uninspired, bland - cliché if you will. Although I must admit a few stuck around (the liked quotes and a few other lines).
There is a grander emotional narrative being spun but all in all the poems moreso overlap and mingle, with leitmotifs galore, rather than form a story.
Much of the deeper meaning escapes me as I haven’t been able to scratch under the surface yet. This is possibly due to my dislike of Siken’s way of writing poetry, the sheer (literal and thematic) repetition of it bludgeoned any patience and interest left in me (as it rarely worked, in my opinion). I don’t know.
But there’s something missing, unfulfilling here. The collection felt like flashing images.
To conclude, Richard Siken’s poetry just doesn't speak to me and I've made my peace with that fact.
a. hands
b. glass
c. death and blood
d. knives and guns
e. stars
+the language of passion, mourning and violence
etc.
It’s also really gay.
All of this half-joking sentiment aside - the language is accessible and sometimes surprisingly rich, the thoughts not so much. Funnily enough, roughly half of the lines perplexed me while the other half seemed so… uninspired, bland - cliché if you will. Although I must admit a few stuck around (the liked quotes and a few other lines).
There is a grander emotional narrative being spun but all in all the poems moreso overlap and mingle, with leitmotifs galore, rather than form a story.
Much of the deeper meaning escapes me as I haven’t been able to scratch under the surface yet. This is possibly due to my dislike of Siken’s way of writing poetry, the sheer (literal and thematic) repetition of it bludgeoned any patience and interest left in me (as it rarely worked, in my opinion). I don’t know.
But there’s something missing, unfulfilling here. The collection felt like flashing images.
To conclude, Richard Siken’s poetry just doesn't speak to me and I've made my peace with that fact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts