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.
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Magicholia by Jenny Grassl
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.
A review of Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin
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.
A review of Review of God is a river running down my palm by Jeremy Ra and Aruni Wijesinghe
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.
Bleeding Wilds: A Review of Country Songs for Alice by Emma Binder
One of Binder’s many talents is their ability to transport you to any location at any time, but especially those environments inextricably tied to nature, to the wild, to those places that awaken instincts that lie within every human being. In one poem that takes us to “the plains” we are told, “You need hooves or adaptations, like how the fox twists her shadow into scrap metal, to camouflage herself from hunters in their cars.
A review of Ekhō by Roslyn Orlando
Orlando commences in the prologue describing Ekhō. According to Mythology Ekhō (Echo) was a nymph of mount Cithaeron in Boeotia. She was cursed by the goddess Hera, who condemned her to only repeat the words of others as punishment for distracting her with incessant chatter while Zeus pursued his affairs. The poet expertly builds a picture of Ekhō, characterising her with humour and vivid imagery.
Covid Kaleidoscope: A Review of Sleep Tight Satellite by Carol Guess
Sleep Tight Satellite by Carol Guess is heartbreakingly human, beautifully vulnerable, and entirely unapologetic. Guess has brought forth a rich patchwork tying together poignant remembrances of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the complex web of queer relationships and identities.
A review of Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece by Nasser Rabah
Oddly, or perhaps not, Nasser Rabah’s spirituality makes me think of Leonard Cohen. Maybe it’s those Zen-like questions (“Why do the details of things cough at night?” he asks in “Background Music for Life”). Or maybe it’s his vision of himself: “I am the prophet who lost his prophecy,” he writes in “Prophet of the Lost Way,” and later in the poem writes, “Die a little, and give me my first kiss: a star / to lean on and herd my pain with.”
A review of Divorce Towers by Ellen Meister
Toss in an attention-averse internet celeb, a shy New Englander fleeing an abusive spouse, the theft of a bejeweled faux Fabergé egg, an enigmatic dominatrix, and a gaggle of superannuated, hilariously rapacious divorcees, and you have a combustible mix. Divorce Towers is classic Ellen Meister — fast-paced, breezy, and funny AF.If you’ve liked Meister’s other offerings, you will surely love this one.
A review of Alive: Our Bodies and the Richness and Brevity of Existence by Gabriel Weston
Alive takes us on a tour of the body by chapter, from bones to lungs to kidney to womb. Weston works hard to turn an anatomy tutorial into a story – or perhaps infuse a story with a bit of a tutorial. Each section provides a scientific and historical overview of the organ in question, a personal narrative of a patient, and often a journey into the role of the treating physician.