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A review by raynerayne
The Best American Poetry 2013 by David Lehman, Denise Duhamel
2.0
Thoughts jotted down (digitally, because everything is digital these days) while reading:
- Didn't even finish reading the foreword. David, you are such a fucking bore.
- Jericho Brown's "Hustle" had me looking out the window and rethinking my whole life.
- Kwame Dawes' "Death" was just very beautiful.
- "See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little" (Stephen Dunn, "The Statue of Responsibility")
- "My talent is in looking like someone you want when the lights are on and like anyone who'll do when they're off." (Rebecca Hazelton, "Book of Forget") hmmmmmm...
- David Hernandez's "All-American": some good shit that explores what it means to be American and all the different things that comprise this singular identity, specifically w/r/t Mexican-American identity... I guess. I don't actually know for sure since this is poetry.
- Yes, Mark Jarman's "George W. Bush" is as uncomfortable to read as you think.
- Lauren Jensen's "it's hard as so much is": why? just why?
- "What's so funny about racism is how the racists never get the joke ... This joke, like an aloe released on a wound, like a black man trying to do a job in a town in which he's not wanted, like a black man unzipping his pants in ... " (A. Van Jordan's "Blazing Saddles): listen, I could quote the whole poem, because that's what I really wanna do. But I'm not gonna. One of my favorite poems in this collection--less to do with its subject matter, but it just sounds so nice when it's read out loud. It's got a roll-off-the-tongue quality to it.
- Victoria Kelly, "When the Men Go Off to War": liked the idea, iffy about the execution.
- J. Allyn Rosser, "Intro to Happiness": this is just a fun poem, okay, about a professor getting joy from scaring students into dropping his/her class by assigning a lot of work. Obviously I wouldn't find this fun or funny if it was me (because I have been that student in that class), but from the outside looking in, it sure is entertaining.
- Stephanie Strickland, "Introductions": are...you...fucking...kidding...me? this is what the Best American Poetry of 2013 consists of? "ruinful ruinous ruin us Noo Yawk." And that's just the 2nd line of the poem! The very definition of WORD. VOMIT. I just can't with poetry sometimes.
Looking back at this, I'm kinda surprised at the amount of bad things I've had to say. I mean, this collection was definitely bad to me, but as I was reading it I was thinking it was more boring and at times too abstract and "artsy" for me to really enjoy or understand (literally me to myself at times when reading this collection: "maybe I'm not *~cUlTuReD~* enough!! woe is me"). Now, in hindsight, I'm realizing it's not as much boring as it is just not my thing. Maybe if I knew of this edition's editor and his/her writings before reading this anthology I would have had a better understanding of his/her picks, but as things are now I am Very Disappointed (TM). Can't be too up in arms about it to be honest because there were some legitimate gems in here too, which I've mentioned above.
- Didn't even finish reading the foreword. David, you are such a fucking bore.
- Jericho Brown's "Hustle" had me looking out the window and rethinking my whole life.
- Kwame Dawes' "Death" was just very beautiful.
- "See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little" (Stephen Dunn, "The Statue of Responsibility")
- "My talent is in looking like someone you want when the lights are on and like anyone who'll do when they're off." (Rebecca Hazelton, "Book of Forget") hmmmmmm...
- David Hernandez's "All-American": some good shit that explores what it means to be American and all the different things that comprise this singular identity, specifically w/r/t Mexican-American identity... I guess. I don't actually know for sure since this is poetry.
- Yes, Mark Jarman's "George W. Bush" is as uncomfortable to read as you think.
- Lauren Jensen's "it's hard as so much is": why? just why?
- "What's so funny about racism is how the racists never get the joke ... This joke, like an aloe released on a wound, like a black man trying to do a job in a town in which he's not wanted, like a black man unzipping his pants in ... " (A. Van Jordan's "Blazing Saddles): listen, I could quote the whole poem, because that's what I really wanna do. But I'm not gonna. One of my favorite poems in this collection--less to do with its subject matter, but it just sounds so nice when it's read out loud. It's got a roll-off-the-tongue quality to it.
- Victoria Kelly, "When the Men Go Off to War": liked the idea, iffy about the execution.
- J. Allyn Rosser, "Intro to Happiness": this is just a fun poem, okay, about a professor getting joy from scaring students into dropping his/her class by assigning a lot of work. Obviously I wouldn't find this fun or funny if it was me (because I have been that student in that class), but from the outside looking in, it sure is entertaining.
- Stephanie Strickland, "Introductions": are...you...fucking...kidding...me? this is what the Best American Poetry of 2013 consists of? "ruinful ruinous ruin us Noo Yawk." And that's just the 2nd line of the poem! The very definition of WORD. VOMIT. I just can't with poetry sometimes.
Looking back at this, I'm kinda surprised at the amount of bad things I've had to say. I mean, this collection was definitely bad to me, but as I was reading it I was thinking it was more boring and at times too abstract and "artsy" for me to really enjoy or understand (literally me to myself at times when reading this collection: "maybe I'm not *~cUlTuReD~* enough!! woe is me"). Now, in hindsight, I'm realizing it's not as much boring as it is just not my thing. Maybe if I knew of this edition's editor and his/her writings before reading this anthology I would have had a better understanding of his/her picks, but as things are now I am Very Disappointed (TM). Can't be too up in arms about it to be honest because there were some legitimate gems in here too, which I've mentioned above.