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sarahc3319's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually read poetry, but I really, really enjoyed this collection and will look for other books by Fennelly.
seebrandyread's review against another edition
4.0
One of the main obstacles keeping people from reading poetry is not believing it to be "accessible." It's too esoteric or the language and syntax are too far removed from regular speech. These doubts lead some would-be readers to feel as though each poem is a mystery or a puzzle to be solved rather than an experience to be had. Beth Ann Fennelly's collection Unmentionables swings between extremes of accessibile and esoteric in a way that asks the question for whom, if anyone, are poems written?
Several sections of poems are conversations with other works of writing, artists, poets, and family. The section "Berthe Moristo: Retrospective" imagines what the life of the impressionist painter was like. Here, one need not know ample details about her life to understand and appreciate the feminist implications of her work and experience. However, the section "Say You Waved: A Dream Song Cycle," is an "homage and critique" of some of the most famous work of John Berryman which I would not have known without the book jacket. Aspects of Berryman's life are discussed (easy enough to glean from a quick Wikipedia search) in the style of his own dream songs. While I didn't particularly enjoy this section's style or subject matter, I appreciate the skill it took to write it.
My favorite section/poem of the book, "The Kudzu Chronicles," is a sort of love song for Fennelly's adopted home in Mississippi. She evokes the imagery and metaphor of the infamous kudzu, a staple of the Southern landscape much like its infamous racial history. As a southerner, this poem seemed somewhat written for me as a reminder of what I love about my home. Conversely, it could be written for someone who doesn't like the South as a redemptive plea.
It's important to clarify that a poem ABOUT someone or something doesn't make it FOR them. Just because a reader doesn't understand or relate to a work doesn't mean it's not for them. The relationship between writer and audience is more complex. Responsibility doesn't all lie with one or the other and can change from book to book. In this case, I understood as much as I wanted to. Occasionally it's that simple.
Several sections of poems are conversations with other works of writing, artists, poets, and family. The section "Berthe Moristo: Retrospective" imagines what the life of the impressionist painter was like. Here, one need not know ample details about her life to understand and appreciate the feminist implications of her work and experience. However, the section "Say You Waved: A Dream Song Cycle," is an "homage and critique" of some of the most famous work of John Berryman which I would not have known without the book jacket. Aspects of Berryman's life are discussed (easy enough to glean from a quick Wikipedia search) in the style of his own dream songs. While I didn't particularly enjoy this section's style or subject matter, I appreciate the skill it took to write it.
My favorite section/poem of the book, "The Kudzu Chronicles," is a sort of love song for Fennelly's adopted home in Mississippi. She evokes the imagery and metaphor of the infamous kudzu, a staple of the Southern landscape much like its infamous racial history. As a southerner, this poem seemed somewhat written for me as a reminder of what I love about my home. Conversely, it could be written for someone who doesn't like the South as a redemptive plea.
It's important to clarify that a poem ABOUT someone or something doesn't make it FOR them. Just because a reader doesn't understand or relate to a work doesn't mean it's not for them. The relationship between writer and audience is more complex. Responsibility doesn't all lie with one or the other and can change from book to book. In this case, I understood as much as I wanted to. Occasionally it's that simple.
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