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spawnofpuremalevolence's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is closer to a 3.5, but yeah. Some great poems and some not so great.
5fourteen's review against another edition
4.0
Intense, man. Very intense. It took me freaking forever to get through, because I could only read it in small chunks.
ashley073's review against another edition
4.0
Not exactly what I was expecting, somewhat hit or miss, but a decent collection. There were a few that I thought were downright bad, but overall it was an enjoyable journey through the mind of one of my favorite artists.
some of my favorites: Spit Hits My Face, c'mon, let's go, Joy, & My Watch Hates You.
some of my favorites: Spit Hits My Face, c'mon, let's go, Joy, & My Watch Hates You.
rivercrow's review against another edition
1.0
To directly quote Mr. Adams from his own book:
"oh god
Blah, and yuck."
and
" I am a fucking fool
you know
for thinking this is poetry."
Do you remember that bad "poetry" you wrote in high school and you know how happy you are that no one ever saw it? This collection feels exactly like that. Painful. Wannabe Kerouac hipster nonsense.
I love much of Ryan Adams' music and think he can be a damn genius at times. Perhaps if he becomes as prolific a poet and fiction writer as he is a songwriter more will stick to the wall that is worth keeping or stands out like a "Heartbreaker" or "Love is Hell." This just takes itself way too seriously and the payoff is almost nil.
Here is a bright spot (because of the footnote):
I Refuse
I refuse to edit*
I am but a single life
I refuse to edit
look away
if you choose
but these bulbs
will burn in cycles
if forever
was a single night
*Editor's Note: This poem was originally 32 pages long.--JT.
It is also apparently the only poem in the book in which the editor was enlisted. Deeply disappointing.
"oh god
Blah, and yuck."
and
" I am a fucking fool
you know
for thinking this is poetry."
Do you remember that bad "poetry" you wrote in high school and you know how happy you are that no one ever saw it? This collection feels exactly like that. Painful. Wannabe Kerouac hipster nonsense.
I love much of Ryan Adams' music and think he can be a damn genius at times. Perhaps if he becomes as prolific a poet and fiction writer as he is a songwriter more will stick to the wall that is worth keeping or stands out like a "Heartbreaker" or "Love is Hell." This just takes itself way too seriously and the payoff is almost nil.
Here is a bright spot (because of the footnote):
I Refuse
I refuse to edit*
I am but a single life
I refuse to edit
look away
if you choose
but these bulbs
will burn in cycles
if forever
was a single night
*Editor's Note: This poem was originally 32 pages long.--JT.
It is also apparently the only poem in the book in which the editor was enlisted. Deeply disappointing.
jessicaxmaria's review against another edition
4.0
Ryan Adams has been one of my favourite songwriters for years now, and though I don't read poetry much, I figured that since I loved his lyrics (which are essentially poems), I might like his poetry. I was right, though not in the way I thought. Ryan has a gift with words and playing them off each other, but Infinity Blues also displays his humor, his dark side, his fears - it displays his range.
I took about two months to read all poems, because I've found that poetry isn't actually fast to read. It takes time to swallow it all in. I digested it, and was able to parallel many of his personal issues with what I already know about him: Ryan used to do a lot of drugs, used to drink a lot, and he's someone people write about and pay attention to. He's sober now, but it's obvious that it's a struggle for him not to think of those days and going back to them. He writes about death a lot, and questions his own mortality...
And then there's women and love and sex and relationships and all the good memories, or anger, or sadness these subjects conjure up in Ryan. Mainly sadness, though. And being alone. And his mistakes. In the titular poem, "Infinity Blues," Ryan touches on some of these subjects, and growing old:
i don't address you
when you read
because it was only one girl i wanted to need
who i wanted to write to
or for
only one set of legs
for me to set the seed
i am a dirty old fuck on the inside
but not
i am all kinds of trinkets and Southern things
forget
spoiled by loneliness
and made of forgot
In the poem, he repeats the line, "and i AM going to die," as if he's reassuring himself that the pain he feels will end at some point, at least. There's that.
And for all his prolific writing, Ryan has dealt with many a critic, which he addresses in "Joy" -
When you say a thing that I write too much
I dream myself a thousand-plus
more book I wrote myself
and imagine them in a swinging stack
fainting
and collapsing onto you
as they crush your bones
in the name of art
I think Ryan's poetry can only really make sense to those who do know the background of Ryan's own career and struggles - or maybe not. Maybe that's just extra goodness to someone like me, a huge fan of Ryan, and un-used to poetry.
My favourite poems:
Anxiety and Hope
i think i thought i loved you
infinity blues
Cease Fire
Joy
27 Steps (which is somewhat of a short story...)
I took about two months to read all poems, because I've found that poetry isn't actually fast to read. It takes time to swallow it all in. I digested it, and was able to parallel many of his personal issues with what I already know about him: Ryan used to do a lot of drugs, used to drink a lot, and he's someone people write about and pay attention to. He's sober now, but it's obvious that it's a struggle for him not to think of those days and going back to them. He writes about death a lot, and questions his own mortality...
And then there's women and love and sex and relationships and all the good memories, or anger, or sadness these subjects conjure up in Ryan. Mainly sadness, though. And being alone. And his mistakes. In the titular poem, "Infinity Blues," Ryan touches on some of these subjects, and growing old:
i don't address you
when you read
because it was only one girl i wanted to need
who i wanted to write to
or for
only one set of legs
for me to set the seed
i am a dirty old fuck on the inside
but not
i am all kinds of trinkets and Southern things
forget
spoiled by loneliness
and made of forgot
In the poem, he repeats the line, "and i AM going to die," as if he's reassuring himself that the pain he feels will end at some point, at least. There's that.
And for all his prolific writing, Ryan has dealt with many a critic, which he addresses in "Joy" -
When you say a thing that I write too much
I dream myself a thousand-plus
more book I wrote myself
and imagine them in a swinging stack
fainting
and collapsing onto you
as they crush your bones
in the name of art
I think Ryan's poetry can only really make sense to those who do know the background of Ryan's own career and struggles - or maybe not. Maybe that's just extra goodness to someone like me, a huge fan of Ryan, and un-used to poetry.
My favourite poems:
Anxiety and Hope
i think i thought i loved you
infinity blues
Cease Fire
Joy
27 Steps (which is somewhat of a short story...)
erlathrop's review against another edition
5.0
Heavy, lovely, mystifying, punch-drunk, honest. Walt Whitman with a rock background.
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