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deanna_rigney's review
I haven't really read poetry in quite a while, keeping to the assumption that I get all the poetry I need from well written songs. Though I still believe that to be mostly true, I will have to acknowledge that I would miss great stuff from folks like Keane if I continued to hold exclusively to this idea. Keane is a gritty gal from Louisville, and her poetry is earthy, smart, witty,and atmospheric. Another element that I love about her poetry is her use of music and her clear respect for that art. Music is a natural part of the settings and mood in her work, and I relate strongly to this. This is certainly worth checking out.
mjohnson42's review
5.0
I may be biased as the editor of this book, but it's a fantastic first collection of poems by Erin Keane. Here's my official description:
With poems that are “as entertaining as they are compelling” (Greg Pape) The Gravity Soundtrack will please both veteran readers of poetry and those who’ve never before picked up a book of poems. In this debut collection Erin Keane explores subjects ranging from classic myth, philosophy and religion to rock ‘n roll, pop culture and children’s book characters. The poems are finely crafted, with a “confident and alert use of language” (Greg Pape), and each one shows keen insight into the nature of what it means to be human.
In The Gravity Soundtrack, the poet is not a voice from above passing truths down to the reader, but rather is right there with us in the muck and mire of human experience—and, all along, shows great compassion for our questioning, our losses, our uncertainty. In the end, Keane has few answers for this questioning, but, still, the book leaves us with a feeling of redemption and hope. Is it our very stories, she says, that finally redeem us: “I couldn’t give you/anything to hold, so take this wakeful night/know it can’t make sense. What’s left? At least/make it a good story. An offering, one last” (“Grievous Angel”).
With poems that are “as entertaining as they are compelling” (Greg Pape) The Gravity Soundtrack will please both veteran readers of poetry and those who’ve never before picked up a book of poems. In this debut collection Erin Keane explores subjects ranging from classic myth, philosophy and religion to rock ‘n roll, pop culture and children’s book characters. The poems are finely crafted, with a “confident and alert use of language” (Greg Pape), and each one shows keen insight into the nature of what it means to be human.
In The Gravity Soundtrack, the poet is not a voice from above passing truths down to the reader, but rather is right there with us in the muck and mire of human experience—and, all along, shows great compassion for our questioning, our losses, our uncertainty. In the end, Keane has few answers for this questioning, but, still, the book leaves us with a feeling of redemption and hope. Is it our very stories, she says, that finally redeem us: “I couldn’t give you/anything to hold, so take this wakeful night/know it can’t make sense. What’s left? At least/make it a good story. An offering, one last” (“Grievous Angel”).
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