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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
I've read complaints about how Meghan O'Rourke doesn't deserve all the success she has had in the poetry world, and I don't understand it. After reading [b:Halflife|3419397|Halflife|Meghan O'Rourke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267993689s/3419397.jpg|95993], I am a fan of her poetry. I think it's great! The book was an enjoyable read.
Her poems are polished and tight, the images were surprising.
I love the tone of the book, it feels menacing and uneasy like a dream before it turns into a nightmare. As I read the poems, I kept thinking that they were all true, even when it would be pretty unlikely. She is a credible narrator and I love when a writer can make me believe something that is not real.
I think her titles could be better. They are all either one word titles ("Spectacular," "Halflife"), or simple phrases ("Lost Sister," "Peep Show"). The line and stanza breaks are mostly not orderly, but some have regular line and stanza breaks.
When it came time to find O'Rourke's poems online, I had no trouble at all, her poems are reposted by fans on their blogs and on tumblr. I feel like her poems are some of the most "available" when I had to search for specific poems online.
My favorites in the book:
Inventing a Horse (Sorry about the ridiculous background on the website)
Sandy Hook
Checklist
Descent
Her poems are polished and tight, the images were surprising.
I love the tone of the book, it feels menacing and uneasy like a dream before it turns into a nightmare. As I read the poems, I kept thinking that they were all true, even when it would be pretty unlikely. She is a credible narrator and I love when a writer can make me believe something that is not real.
I think her titles could be better. They are all either one word titles ("Spectacular," "Halflife"), or simple phrases ("Lost Sister," "Peep Show"). The line and stanza breaks are mostly not orderly, but some have regular line and stanza breaks.
When it came time to find O'Rourke's poems online, I had no trouble at all, her poems are reposted by fans on their blogs and on tumblr. I feel like her poems are some of the most "available" when I had to search for specific poems online.
My favorites in the book:
Inventing a Horse (Sorry about the ridiculous background on the website)
Sandy Hook
Checklist
Descent
It's good to pick up a poetry book occasionally, even for someone thoroughly grounded in the here and now. The poet's use of language forces the reader to abandon convention and let the mind fly free, just a bit. That's a good exercise for any reader.
I picked up this book because I enjoy Meghan O'Rourke's Slate book podcasts. She's enjoyed a good deal of early success and it will be interesting to watch Ms. O'Rourke as she matures and mellows with the years.
My favorite lines, from VIII. The Lost Sister:
I picked up this book because I enjoy Meghan O'Rourke's Slate book podcasts. She's enjoyed a good deal of early success and it will be interesting to watch Ms. O'Rourke as she matures and mellows with the years.
My favorite lines, from VIII. The Lost Sister:
In her life, the hours pass casually.
Snow continues to pile on snow,
the dust in the corners of the old farm house
grows like mice in winter.
I, I was the snow that fell too soon,
before the ground had frozen enough to catch me
and make me stick.
probably closer to 3.5 stars. truly blown away by the entirety of “still life amongst partial outlines.” a beautiful, twisty, well-constructed poem. the book was worth the read just for that piece.
Yes, her work is reminiscent of Plath at times* and this collection is a mite uneven but damn if some of these poems didn't pierce my heart. As the back cover blurbs call out, she's very good at killer last lines. Definitely a poet to watch.
*But, I would add, in the "sincerest form of flattery" way.
*But, I would add, in the "sincerest form of flattery" way.
Beautiful imagery in these poems - the kind of poems that deserve reading after reading.
This is the second book of poetry I have read by [a:Meghan O'Rourke|57343|Meghan O'Rourke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1302121405p2/57343.jpg], the first being her most recent, [b:Sun in Days: Poems|34068530|Sun in Days Poems|Meghan O'Rourke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487351757s/34068530.jpg|55079117], which was also a chance pick-up at the library for me. I subsequently read her memoir, [b:The Long Goodbye|9499320|The Long Goodbye|Meghan O'Rourke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440994569s/9499320.jpg|14384851], about grief and the loss of her mother which is what clinched my somewhat starry-eyed love for Meghan O'Rourke's writings.
Since I completed Halflife in the early part of January, I have gone back and dipped into it a couple of times and revisited a couple of the poems I liked the most. There are a number of them, but, for me, the cycle of poems in section II, titled Still Life Amongst Partial Outlines is one of the best parts of the book.
There are nine poems total, two of which obviously describe the rape of two girls in the woods of Vermont in 1981. One of the girls is murdered and the other girl, who happens to share the same name as the author, Meghan O'Rourke, lived and was able to describe the attackers. O'Rourke writes that for her, reading the newspaper article about this in 1988 was "-a story that could not be forgotten or owned, like looking in a mirror and discovering someone else's face."
Then again, it is possible the whole nine poem cycle is about this incident, the two boys who perpetrated it, the girl who was murdered and the girl who lived. At times I feel some of the poems are autobiographical and that the author's story became intertwined with the earlier one in what became a "There, but for the grace of God, go I." moment for Meghan O'Rourke.
Of all of the poems my personal favorite is VI
When you are a child this is all you have:
rules, mountains, pools, boundaries, magic
that doesn't work. What happened to her
did not happen to you. You were a child,
you were safe, you were not harmed. But
there are fields inside us. They grow.
How do you choose which ones to make room for
under the golden sun, and which ones to lock away.
so that men cannot climb into them at twilight,
vaulting over the iron fence
and landing lightly in the grass?
What happens when you invite what you love
into the field and it will not stay?
Is the grass still green, does it continue to grow like grass?
I can't quite put into words what I understand about this whole cycle of poems. Perhaps, with time and practice, I will be better able to express my insights in a more coherent way.
Since I completed Halflife in the early part of January, I have gone back and dipped into it a couple of times and revisited a couple of the poems I liked the most. There are a number of them, but, for me, the cycle of poems in section II, titled Still Life Amongst Partial Outlines is one of the best parts of the book.
There are nine poems total, two of which obviously describe the rape of two girls in the woods of Vermont in 1981. One of the girls is murdered and the other girl, who happens to share the same name as the author, Meghan O'Rourke, lived and was able to describe the attackers. O'Rourke writes that for her, reading the newspaper article about this in 1988 was "-a story that could not be forgotten or owned, like looking in a mirror and discovering someone else's face."
Then again, it is possible the whole nine poem cycle is about this incident, the two boys who perpetrated it, the girl who was murdered and the girl who lived. At times I feel some of the poems are autobiographical and that the author's story became intertwined with the earlier one in what became a "There, but for the grace of God, go I." moment for Meghan O'Rourke.
Of all of the poems my personal favorite is VI
When you are a child this is all you have:
rules, mountains, pools, boundaries, magic
that doesn't work. What happened to her
did not happen to you. You were a child,
you were safe, you were not harmed. But
there are fields inside us. They grow.
How do you choose which ones to make room for
under the golden sun, and which ones to lock away.
so that men cannot climb into them at twilight,
vaulting over the iron fence
and landing lightly in the grass?
What happens when you invite what you love
into the field and it will not stay?
Is the grass still green, does it continue to grow like grass?
I can't quite put into words what I understand about this whole cycle of poems. Perhaps, with time and practice, I will be better able to express my insights in a more coherent way.
This never clicked. I thought it would, the language was excellent, the images were interesting, it just never got to that one poem that hit me between the eyes. Instead I got a general mood of threat and malice that never coalesced.
I would probably read more of her poems, just because there were lines or phrases that I enjoyed, but this collection didn't quite get as far as I hoped it would go.
I would probably read more of her poems, just because there were lines or phrases that I enjoyed, but this collection didn't quite get as far as I hoped it would go.