80 pages, poems not always starting on a new page. I can see why she's been published. I can also see why she's not better known. The book needs editing - words, lines and whole poems could go. There's variety, though the poems fall into a few categories. No forms - she's not precise enough.
I liked the phrase "retreating into his sleeves" (p.12) but the poem ends with "There are more tears inside us than oceans but we don't cry. Just let grains of sand sear the corners of our eyes." There were several other phrases I took an instant dislike to -
- I nearly drowned in his stream of consciousness. A brookling babble (p.20)
- First touch of cold, un po' freddo huddles the family closer together (p.68)
- But once you uncork the bottle, once you slice the loaf, open the box, cross the line, there's no coming back (p.79)
I didn't like the poems on pages 20, 25, 26, 33, 38, 58, etc. I understand a far bit of Italian and have recently stayed in Praha, which should have helped me appreciate the poems about Praha and Italian. The opposite was true. "Checking out the Sun" is all over the place - Sun/son, Praha/Italian, etc.
I liked "Child's Play" best of all the poems. "Escaping Backwards" (9 pages) is promising too. I didn't get "Smoke Signals" (2.5 pages). It might be good too.
I think "carboard" on p.27 is a typo.
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