Literary reviews by Tim Love.
Warning: Rather than reviews, these are often notes in preparation for reviews that were never finished, or pleas for help with understanding pieces. See Litref Reviews - a rationale for details.

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

"He said/She said" by Michael Loveday (HappenStance, 2011)

I liked the initial poems. Several of them involve an apparent relationship between an English speaker and a Polish speaker, though the misunderstandings could be between any 2 people. The language is lively and can cope with short lines. I wasn't keen on "When". The title poem has some good stanzas - "Pregnancy ..." - but also some weaker ones - "Floatation tank ...". "The ear" is unashamedly, entertainingly Freudian. "747" is excellent. By this time we're half way through the pamphlet and looking forward to the rest, but I didn't think the second half was as strong. "Agent" has 45 lines of 1-5 words, but this time the shortness of the lines has a negative effect. "Desert island" has its moments. "Other" is the best poem of the second half.

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