Scan barcode
bluelilyblue's review
4.0
and each time I half-expect
to meet someone among the trees
or inside the empty skeleton
of the rhododendron, and I wonder if I have ruined
these places for myself, if I have brought
each secret to them and weighed the trees
with things I can no longer bear.
There's a quiet, solemn beauty to these poems which eerily complements the heartrending energy they exude. Emotions fluctuate and blend, sometimes to the point where despair bleeds into tenderness and vice versa; what stays constant is the sacred dialogue with nature: trees, soil, bodies of water are ever the healers, the translators of this emotional tumult. No matter how deep they might plunge into darkness and grief, Seán Hewitt's poems always bring gentleness and warmth to the surface. An undercurrent of love and sincerity that made me miss home, and my parents, and the woodlands. And many more.
thebookboy's review
4.0
Poetry is such a deeply personal form that I do sometimes find it difficult to rate. However, Hewitt's small collection of poems were exactly the sort of salve I needed in 2020.
Beautifully evocative, Hewitt blends the beauty of nature with personal experience in a pensive, almost mischievous manner, resulting in poems that, although simple, are wonderfully powerful and linger beautifully after reading.
I particularly liked the poem "Dryad" - one of the longer entries in the anthology and one that I think really nicely captures the celebration of nature contrasted against the grounded experiences and interesting sexual undertones that the author has weaved through.
I did find a few of the poems a bit less intoxicating than the others, and there are a few entries to this tiny anthology that I didn't personally resonate with - something which in such a small collection is a shame as they detracted from the overall experience.
Still, a beautiful selection filled with wind strewn heaths and woodlice-dripping plants, the language of trees and the subtle touch of human experience against nature. Very beautiful indeed.
4 stars.
Beautifully evocative, Hewitt blends the beauty of nature with personal experience in a pensive, almost mischievous manner, resulting in poems that, although simple, are wonderfully powerful and linger beautifully after reading.
I particularly liked the poem "Dryad" - one of the longer entries in the anthology and one that I think really nicely captures the celebration of nature contrasted against the grounded experiences and interesting sexual undertones that the author has weaved through.
I did find a few of the poems a bit less intoxicating than the others, and there are a few entries to this tiny anthology that I didn't personally resonate with - something which in such a small collection is a shame as they detracted from the overall experience.
Still, a beautiful selection filled with wind strewn heaths and woodlice-dripping plants, the language of trees and the subtle touch of human experience against nature. Very beautiful indeed.
4 stars.
siralexjames's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
A fine work of art with each poem and page a door opening to reveal a writer worth reading with words resembling valuable gems. Some hidden in plain sight. Hewitt is a master of his craft, possessing a voice that illuminates through trails of darkness, echoing his brilliant light. In many ways, these poems prove to be haunting and healing, guiding us to look deep within our selves, nudging us closer to nature, offering an ode to perseverance in the face of reflection. Darkness offers itself as a safety net, promising to catch all that the light cannot behold on its own. This was an experience I will carry with me, revisiting will be inevitable.