Book Review: You Could Make This Place Beautiful

 

Book Review: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith 

Goodreads Description: In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes. With the spirit of self-inquiry and empathy she’s known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. The power of these pieces is cumulative: page after page, they build into a larger interrogation of family, work, and patriarchy.

My Review: Maggie Smith is a poet by trade, so it's no surprise that her memoir is part prose and part poetry. The book is very much a conversation between you, the reader, and Smith herself, as she personally invites you into her emotional reality. Smith frequently breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader and even addresses them as such. This kicks up the sense of intimacy, but also seats you inside her story as an active participant. Many books invite you to disappear into the story of another, to become someone else, so I found it particularly striking that in this memoir about self-actualization, Smith never forgets that you, dear reader, have value just as you are. 

There's a fair bit of repetition to the book, from framing devices to certain phrases, but this gives structure to a story that largely has no structure -- healing, after all, does not follow the plot beats of the hero's journey. By re-using certain poetic structures, such as the strawmen conversation or the way her house looks on Google maps, Smith is able to beautifully communicate the imperceptible inner change taking place over the course of the book. While some readers may be put off by this style, there's a cadence to the repetition that gives the narrative a melodic rhythm. 

While I enjoyed the book on the whole, I will admit the story loses steam in the second half as the more dramatic elements of Smith's divorce conclude. However, some of the best moments come from this slower-paced half of the book, including some of the best musings on life and happiness. The book culminates with powerful messages around self-love and learning to be single again after a long relationship, which could be very meaningful for those facing independence after spending their life as half of a whole. How do you build a life about you, for you, and filled with all the love and joy you deserve, when you've only ever built a life around someone else? Smith's book makes an excellent case for how.

TL:DR: 5/5 stars. A deeply emotional reflection on marriage, happiness, and love.  

Book Review: Tits On The Moon

 

Book Review: Tits on the Moon by Dessa 

Goodreads Description: Tits on the Moon features a dozen “stage poems,” many of which Dessa performs at her legendary live shows; they’re funny, weird, and occasionally bittersweet. The collection opens with a short essay on craft (and the importance of having a spare poem around for when the power goes out). Proudly published by Rain Taxi in association with Doomtree, Tits on the Moon features a stunning cover pressed with gold foil and structurally embossed.

My Review: Dessa's collection of poems begins with a short essay that sets the 'stage' (heh) for the rest of the collection - when technical difficulties delay the show, it's important to have a handful of poems to appease the waiting crowd. As a writer and rapper, Dessa's comfort with the written word shines through her experimentation with different poetic forms. Some poems are free verse, some use a more rigid rhyme scheme and meter, while others play with cliched phrases. There's a nice balance of cynicism and hope, so while Dessa pokes at some darker subjects, they're handled with a nice dose of dry humour to keep things light. The collection also ends with a piece called Stage Dive, which coupled with the opening essay, create perfect thematic bookends for this short and sweet collection. 

TL;DR: 3/5 stars. A rap artist's perspective on poetry. 

Book Review: The Weary Blues

Book Review: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes 

Goodreads Description: The Weary Blues is Langston Hughes's first published collection of poems, immediately celebrated as a tour de force upon its release. Over ninety years after its publication, it remains a critically acclaimed literary work and still evokes a fresh, contemporary feeling and offers a powerful reflection of the Black experience. From the title poem "The Weary Blues," echoing the sounds of the blues, to "Dream Variation," ringing with joyfulness, to the "Epilogue" that mimics Walt Whitman in its opening line, "I, too, sing America," Hughes writes clearly and colorfully, and his words remain prophetic and relevant today.

My Review: Nearly 100 years ago, Langston Hughes published his first poetry collection, The Weary Blues, a modern classic that propelled him to the top of the literary scene in Harlem in the 1930s. The Weary Blues takes us on a wide journey through various aspects of Hughes' life, introducing us to Harlem in its heyday, the impact of the Blues, and the beauty and strength of the black community. Hughes combines familiar contemporary language with classical poetry forms, structures, and allusions to give his poetry a sense of timelessness, which makes it accessible to a wide variety of readers. Hughes' collection constantly brings together opposing dichotomies on the page to demonstrate their ultimate similarity: ugliness and beauty, black and white, joy and suffering. In this way, The Weary Blues draws on multiple aspects of the human experience to create a rich image of life as a black man in 1920s America. 

Langston Hughes is known for his involvement with the Harlem Renaissance, a period of cultural revival for black art during the 1920-30s, which laid the groundwork for civil rights movements and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960-70s. Throughout his poems, Hughes plays with major ideas that shaped the Harlem Renaissance - such as art as propaganda to support black civil rights movements, and double consciousness - the idea that black people experience two separate 'consciousnesses': life as a black person and an American. Hughes utilizes his poems as a form of propaganda to fight back against white oppression by showcasing blackness and black people as divinely beautiful, while highlighting the suffering and disconnect that comes from systematic oppression. In that way, many of his works are extremely powerful, and when taking the collection in whole, it's hard not see the outpouring of love that Hughes has for his community, his heritage, his country, and ultimately himself. It's this self-love and self-respect that allows Hughes' art to advocate for his community while refusing to submit to a lesser station in society to earn acceptance. His poetry loudly states: we are beautiful, we are strong, and we are capable of greatness, so why don't we deserve a seat at the table? It's a message that never gets old. 

The influence of Blues music remains strong throughout the entire collection. Hughes had a deep understanding of rhythm and infused this into the bones of his poems. The titular poem, "The Weary Blues" does an excellent job at recreating the sound of a Blues song, but it's "The Cat and the Saxophone" that really captures this Blusey feeling for me. The poem feels a bit all over the place, with people talking over a Blues song, but the use of caps, line breaks, rhythms, and stresses expertly recreates the sound of a swinging trumpet and its long soulful notes. The parts of the collection that are less focused on music, such as the sailor arc, utilize different rhythms that emphasize silence (think calming ocean white noise) which sharply contrast with the Blues pieces. This is what makes the Blusey pieces really pop, as readers can hear the difference between the various rhythms. The collection utilizes classical poetry forms throughout, while also mixing in more expressive free verse poems that capture the lack of structure during certain parts of Hughes' life (his sea-faring poems are largely freeverse). This change of form and style gives a refreshing diversity to the pieces in this collection, however, Hughes largely sticks to simple page arrangements while constructing his poems, leaving little for the eye to feast on besides the meat of the stanzas themselves. Many of the poems are short, some even only three lines long, and while his short pieces are meaningful, it feels like a potential is missed out on by not experimenting more with the white space. This may be an unfair criticism, since concrete poetry and experiments in white space didn't really kick off until the 1950s, but I did find myself really missing the aesthetic arrangement, especially for those really short, powerful pieces. 

All in all, Langston Hughes' first poetry collection is filled with joy, pain, music, and wisdom, all packed within tight little stanzas. Even after 100 years, his astute observations and use of language resonates with readers of any background and makes The Weary Blues an excellent addition to any poetry collection. 

TL;DR: 3/5 stars. A modern classic that celebrates the beauty and majesty of the black community. 

Book Review: The Garage? Just Torch It

Book Review: The Garage? Just Torch It by Dylan D Debelis 

Goodreads Description: A rally cry for the healing power of wonder and the disarming catharsis of grief, The Garage? Just Torch It. balances themes of belonging, love, politics, illness, family and forgiveness with stunning imagery and an intense playfulness. Paced as if the reader is moving through the belly of a burning building, each turn of the page represents the uncovering of the long-hidden, buried, and the better-left-forgotten.

My Review: I was given a review copy of The Garage? Just Torch It by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

The Garage? Just Torch It is a collection of poetry separated into four parts that tackle some pretty heavy topics. The poems have vivid imagery and beautiful use of language that had me pausing to roll the word combinations around on my tongue. This is not poetry that spells out things for you, rather, it speaks in the spaces between lines and paints images out of smoke. Read too fast and the image is gone, and so this book demands the reader pause to contemplate and savour each line. In a world of instant gratification, this poetry collection pauses to reflect on the beauty of tragedy and allows the reader to find the beauty in the moment. 

On the surface, the poems can seem disjointed and confusing at times, but when you see through the lines, the themes of a father's death begin to appear. It does at times present itself as a puzzle to piece together through clues in the poems, which I actually enjoyed. It allowed me to piece together an image of the poet and discover how the threads of literary lyricism all tied together. If you don't enjoy finding the story behind the lines, this collection may be frustrating for you, but if you enjoy the type of heavy metaphor found in university English class, this collection is a delightful read. 

TL;DR: All in all, 3/5 stars. A no-holds-barred poetry collection tackling the intensity of grief and loss.

Poetry Spotlight: Dane Cobain

I am excited to share with you something I've never done before: a poetry spotlight. I'm very pleased to welcome Dane Cobain, author of No Rest For the Wicked, Eyes Like Lighthouses When The Boats Come Home, Former.ly, and Social Paranoia: How Consumers and Brands Can Stay Safe in a Connected World. Dane also runs a book reviewing blog (woot fellow reviewers!) which can be found here: http://www.socialbookshelves.com You can also find him at his website, here: http://www.danecobain.com/

So, without further adieu, I'd like to present Dane and his poetry piece, Redundant Formats, which he wrote from prompts I gave him.

Redundant Formats 

Sometimes I’m not fun to be around,

like when I’m reading a book

or I’m cutting through crowds

100 feet down on the Northern Line,

talk about Notes from the Underground.

Sometimes I’m fun

although I’m usually drunk,

when I’m living my life

at open mic nights

or trying to find

some excitement.

Sometimes I even

get the drinks in.

Sometimes I take my metaphorical quill

and feel metaphorically ill,

so I metaphorically spill my words

in a funeral hearse,

and so I fear the worst

and hope for something better,

you’d better believe it.

But this isn’t about me,

not really –

we all need something to believe in,

whether it’s reality TV

or whether it’s buy-one-get-one-free

on books and CDs,

even though we stream mp3s

as a society.

I like my books in redundant formats,

hypertext stories on floppy disks,

audio books on cassette tapes

or lines of foolscap

from a typewriter.

Book Review: Death of a Scratching Post

Book Review: Death of a Scratching Post by Jackson Dean Chase

Goodreads Description: This short poetry chapbook is a celebration of cats as much as it is a look into loneliness, into the heart of a poet, and perhaps into yourself. If you've read my previous cat-themed collection, LOVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LITTER BOX, then you know what to expect: Cats are the stars of some poems, bit players in others, but they are always there, purring in your ear, telling us life isn't so bad if we'd only just open our eyes and see...

My Review: I love poetry, but I don’t consider myself anything of an expert on it. Poetry to me, especially when I write it, is something personal and private, and utterly raw. With so few words, you tend to have to go straight for the point, which I think a lot of people don’t necessarily understand. Jackson Dean Chase is excellent at getting straight to the point and though this book of poetry has a lighthearted topic—all poems featuring cats—it still packs an incredibly powerful punch. I found myself rereading a couple poems, as if to confirm to myself that what I felt wasn’t some coincidence or passing fancy. I found as I reread this simple poetry book a couple times (an easy feat, as it not incredibly long), I found myself struck with the same wonder and awe each time, inspired by simple words and emotions. 

At times, Jackson Dean Chase can dip into some dark topics, as I think is pretty common for poets. But the angle of cats, as well as brief spots of optimism and hope, keep this little collection of poetry nicely balanced. It is the first poetry book I have read from cover to cover, mostly because it’s an easy read, but also since I found myself delighted by each poem as I read. Ideally this book would make a great gift for a lover of cats and reading, who wouldn’t be off-put by some of the darker tones. I loved it for those darker looks at reality, but I could easily see it upsetting some of my elderly coworkers, who can sometimes fit the “little old lady” theme a bit too well. 

What really caught me about this collection was the raw emotion and the no-holds-barred way of looking at life. It’s the best kind of poetry there is—with a subtle and rhythmic flow to the writing and strong emotional messages, delivered both bluntly and through delightful cat metaphors. 

TL;DR: All in all 4/5 stars. A great look into Jackson Dean Chase’s style with the cuddliest of subject matter.