Last night in bed I swear I thought my body was on fire.
What a lovely and eloquent little book. The tone, subject matter, and emotion in this one realLast night in bed I swear I thought my body was on fire.
What a lovely and eloquent little book. The tone, subject matter, and emotion in this one really stands out among the numerous modern poetry collections....more
This collection was a great introduction to Emily Dickinson's poetry - but I think it was just that, an introduction. While there are certainly some gThis collection was a great introduction to Emily Dickinson's poetry - but I think it was just that, an introduction. While there are certainly some gems within this edition, I found myself uninterested in her poems about nature, which take up a significant part of this book. In time, I could definitely be persuaded to buy a complete collection of Dickinson's poetry to indulge in on a warm spring day. ...more
Let me preface this by saying that I don't read a lot of poetry collections, be it modern or classic. This is n*Actual rating is more like 2.5 stars.*
Let me preface this by saying that I don't read a lot of poetry collections, be it modern or classic. This is new territory for me and perhaps I should have begun with the classics and eased my way into a collection like this. Nonetheless, I do think my unpopular opinion of this book would have remained unchanged.
I know that 2 stars on goodreads has slight negative connotation but in all honesty, I do think that, for a debut collection, this was "okay".
So let me get my criticisms out of the way. Out of some 194 pages, I bookmarked 12 that stood out to me. There's no denying that there are some beautifully arranged words in this collection, but a lot of the time, that's all it appeared to be - a few arranged words on a page. Too many of the poems in this collection have twenty words or less and, this is just my preference, but I like to read a poem that has depth and divulges something about the author or myself - not 10 words that sound like a statement or a summary of a text post I've read on tumblr. I know a lot of people praise her simplicity, but I just thought it was a little too simple for my tastes.
The only other thing that I personally don't 100% agree with is the idea that one must love and appreciate themselves before anyone else can love them. There are a few poems in this collection that encompass this message, for example:
"if you are not enough for yourself you will never be enough for someone else"
Personally, the best friends I've made and relationships I've been in were with people who believed in me and saw the best in me when I couldn't. Self-love is a never-ending process. Just because I'm internally struggling with my insecurities doesn't mean that I can't be in a healthy relationship or that a friend, mentor, or significant other can't help point out my strengths to me. It's just a popular concept that I don't really agree with and there are a number of poems in this collection that seem to reiterate it. It is nearly impossible to overcome things like depression, anxiety, addiction and stress without support. To imply that people who aren't happy with themselves or who aren't the best versions of themselves will never be "enough" for someone else is silly to me. We all have the ability to inspire someone to love us, even if we don't think we deserve it at the time.
Honestly, those were my qualms with the collection. Like I mentioned, there are twelve lovely poems that felt dear to my heart and I appreciate them very much. At the end of the day, though it has stellar reviews on tumblr and goodreads I can't say I was overly impressed by this. It was beautiful but didn't say anything I hadn't heard or read before.
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