A review by malus23
Breezeway: New Poems by John Ashbery

2.0

This is something I read as a stretching my mind sort of exercise. I knew going in that the whole surrealist/post-modern style usually doesn't interest me, but he's a very prominent poet who I'd never read until now, so I settled in to try and connect with this. I can admire the technical aspect of it, however, one of the things I read poetry for in the first place is an emotional connection that pulls me into what the poet is saying. The gap on that personal level is simply too big here. I have no doubt that there are people who are intensely moved by some of these poems, but none of them really hit home for me, I was simply examining them from a distance without ever feeling connected. So I'm sure this deserves better on technical merit, but my ratings tend to be based on the purely subjective and personal, so I had to go with two stars as it was ultimately not what I want out of an experience. No regrets, but no repeats.