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Goldsmith writes with the perfect combination of intensity and restraint, balancing the forward motion of the novel’s rich plot, a linear arc of emotional awakening that picks up the book’s title, with philosophical reflection that leans into the poetic and unspoken qualities of music and poetry.
Good’s poems catch and return with these moments of praise and gratitude balancing the tension with hard-fought lessons and observations of resiliency from the natural world. Her poetry combines language that is intensifying and evocative, like a personal diary, with the immediacy of a scrapbook. And it’s this personal baring open and honesty that lingers on making In The Thaw of Day a dynamic collection.
Griffintown Sisters is vividly written, with multi-faceted characters including strong, resourceful women. The sisters’ love for each other and their struggle for survival come across clearly. This book will provoke thought about whether or not things have changed much for people at the bottom of society’s ladder.
Mason quickly shifts into an influx of embodied imagery and sensuous detail; absorbing love poems, lush and erotic, are further enlivened, countered by a more objective perspective as landscapes of the natural world magnify the intimacy of Mason’s poems. The meditative poetic interchange using briefer lines, airy lineation and informal erasure drew me in through breath and space, encouraging a contemplative atmosphere.
The imagery captures the tender and quasi-ritualistic act of leaving pieces of oneself on another person’s life. The metaphor of clothing as both physical and emotional markers is clever and poignant, conjuring connection, memory and the lingering presence of love and yearning. The rhythm flows naturally with conversational ease while opening up new ways of seeing.
Repetition is one of Najya Williams’ most important lyric strategies. Certain poignant lines are frequently repeated, giving them resonance, enriching and amplifying their meaning. Take “but the memories,” for instance, a poem about heartbreak and resilience. “But the memories have long scabbed over” is repeated five times in this 27-line poem, italicized in the final line. “The scars may never heal — fully at least” is repeated four times.
These poems challenge our preconceived notions and prescribed roles with fascinating imagery and provocative language that introduces Grassl own invented syntax. This unique use of language takes on visually significant forms. The subject matter encompasses dangerous and threatening conditions such as betrayal, life-threatening mental illness, the rigors of treatment, incarceration, and the end of the world.
The author of Sleep Tight Satellite talks about her latest book, on writing through quarantine, epiphanies, writing in second person point of view, the book’s narrative arc, compression, and lots more.
Larkin has the uncanny ability to paint each person in Freya’s orbit as if they were living, breathing figures, complete with their own hopes, flaws, and secrets. Through her vivid descriptions and nuanced dialogue, each character feels indispensable to the story, enriching the tapestry of the small town and making Freya’s world achingly authentic and free from judgement.
Poetry offers universality, and the importance of this chapbook lies in how two very different people—in background, ethnicity, gender, perception, and voice—convey this universality. Not just in theme, but in desire.