You Can Make Anything Sad

by Spencer Madsen

Thoughts, lists, ideas, memories, not really poems, but not really anything else. Like being alone but surrounded by yourself. Sounds hellish actually.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Mental Health, Contemporary, Literature

82 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[Brooks Sterritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The worst part of talking to people is when they want you to respond."

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

dick like gogurt

what more do you want/need from your poetry?

[Chuck Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

you know that thing where in rom-coms they show (usually) the gal reading a letter and at some parts she smiles and puts the letter to her chest for a second because she recognizes herself so hard in its truth? you know that thing?

[Dottie B · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this book two stars if there were more words on it. I think the price is a bit steep for what it is. You CAN make anything sad, young man, if you just try a little harder! Think of all the kitties in the shelters who are missing good homes. Sad! And here you go on talking about... Not Much! The cover looks like something disrespectful like street grafitti and Pepto Bismo. One time someone spray painted "gang tags" on the side of my grandkid's school and it was a real shame. Government dollars in use to get it off when it could be going to police stations and soup kitchens. I like the police. Okay well I'm signing off now. Go Buckeyes! :)

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of, like, poems or journal entries, or poetic essays, or cultural criticism, or snapshots, slapshots, nuggets, juicings, emotion collages, epigraphs, epitaphs, life advice, diaries, travelogues to the warm part of the bed, and I found them all very reaffirming.

[Théo d'Or]

As I will then no more

A wanderer be,

Let them with fondness store

My memory.

And Lucifer the while ,

Above the pine.

Good comrade mine ,

Will on me gently smile.

In mournful mood,

The sea sings sad refrain,

And I'II be earth again

In solitude.

[wes · Rating 2 out of 5]

less a book of poetry and more a collection of journal entries and like, tweets of varying quality. i spent an equal amount of time reading this and being like 'wow, what a thoughtful and humorous observation on the idiosyncrasies of life and romance' as i did being like 'jesus christ dude come on.' the plight of the lonely, porn-addicted, extremely online as hell guy, whether a "character" or not, does nothing for me; i don't really feel the (presumably intended) sympathy for this dude from whom the only glimpses of personality i've been given are like, not liking his girlfriend and joking about his dick lol. the only reason i'm rating this as highly as i am is because those little moments of vulnerability, when they work, hit incredibly hard. this book is impressively quotable when it tries to be - it's just that it when it's not it quickly devolves into masturbatory navel gazing.

[Philip Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of introspection, curated and crafted with an intensity far in excess of Spencer's earlier work. Full review forthcoming, but I'm pretty sure I loved this book. Maybe hovering around a 4.5, but I feel like it deserves the extra half-star so neither of us feels guilty. <3

[Carol Balawyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

One never really finishes reading a book of poems. Poetry is meant to be read and re-read. Something I will surely do with Spencer Madsen’s You Can Make Anything Sad.
Spencer’s poetry reads like quotes or slogans that you might want to put on a bumper sticker. They are fun and meaningful.
The book is divided into two kinds of poems. There are his dated poems spanning from September 26, 2012 to March 8, 2013. Take for example this from his November 13, 2012 poem: “In life there is usually someone nearby having a really intense time doing a really boring thing.”
Then there are his theme poems on such topics as Ideas (Instead of asking your neighbors “how are you?” try “Yes or no.”), Dance (A new dance called are there any flights that go to my childhood), Things (Date me once, wake up to my passive-aggressive emails for life.) and so forth.
He begins his poem Friday, October 19, 2012 like this: “There are some colors that only certain butterflies and seafloor creatures can perceive. We only see a portion of the color spectrum.”
After reading this poetry book I felt like the spectrum of my creativity had been opened in ways I had never before experienced. Spencer is of the new generation sprouting out of New York. To read his poetry is to get a glimpse of a fresh kind of creativity.

[Brent Reichenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spencer Madsen makes this look so easy. I assure you: It is not.

[Ftoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read.

[Chelsea Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish this slim book. It's poetry, but it doesn't read like poetry–it's more like journal entries or disjointed bits of thoughts. I'd pick it up and binge a few pages, put it back down, and then wouldn't touch it for days, weeks, months even, at a time. There's something about Spencer Madsen's writing that is a little too real, but in a good way. The way he describes the most mundane things... Feelings I've felt before but didn't know how to describe in words... This is a book you keep in your day bag so you can open it up to a random page some days for a dose of #youcanmakeanythingsad.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of modernist poetry starts other seeming like it's trying just a little too hard, but as the poems progress (in journal like fashion), the author really starts to pick up steam and find his pace.

[David Catney · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty sweet.

[Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's true, u CAN make anything sad.
but u have to be feeling sad already when ur experiencing it or thinking it. otherwise it'll just be.

[AJ Ragia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got me into a New Sincerity binge for quite a while.

[Miranda]

It seems like a good book

[Taliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry by a male.....calling my manipulative heart out 🥲

[Syaz Wani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8

[Camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars!

[Peter Landau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written like diary entries, with month/date/year titles, segued with poems that recommend or ponder, Spencer Madsen is the author and subject of his collection YOU CAN MAKE ANYTHING SAD. A narrative of sorts emerges from the pieces that, at first, read to me as disjointed, funny, observant, clever and deep aphorisms. But it all comes together to pack a wallop. Bigger than its parts, parts that are moving, transparent, like the invisible man/woman models I had as a kid. The poems or essays or stories or whatever, resonate, connect me to a sadness that is universal, and a young stranger’s voice is in my head that I want there. Because I recognize it, and want more.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a poetry reader (the last time I really looked at poetry was at school) but the title of this really stuck out at me. It reads quite like a diary or journal entry, commenting of his feelings towards experiences from the day, his relationships and the media, with a few random lists. They are seemingly disjointed but come together as you work through. I found it laugh out loud funny in places, but reading too much at once took away the emphasis of what was being said. Its definitely a book to enjoy and experience over numerous sittings rather than just one.

[Autumn Kotsiuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. Loved it. Some of my favorite lines:

"Understanding that people are always a worse version of who they want to be is a way of loving them."

"I really appreciate aggressive hugs. Oh and I don't know how to be in a relationship where I'm not immediately in love."

"The worst part of talking to people is when they want you to respond."

This collection is existential without all the pompous frills you find in so many books. I definitely want to keep a copy of this one for my personal library collection.

[Melissa Reddish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Existentialist and emotional; aware of their artifice, yet sincere and inviting; list-y and meandering yet cohesive: I greatly enjoyed this book. These poems are difficult to write about cogently, which may be the highest compliment I can give them (or the saddest statement I can make about my own language abilities).

[ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a good poetry book during the first pages: new, surprising and unconventional, full with a lot of personal reflection reflecting youth tribulations, however it gets monotonous and boring as the tone doesn't change and it gets egocentric. however, it still has several poems quite interesting as it makes poetry the dullness of an ordinary life.

[Courtney Woolery · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are lines in these poems that I wish I could crawl up into forever because I feel it so deeply. Also a lot of lines I'm mad I didn't come up with and tweet first. Spencer Madsen's poetry flows along quietly like it's your own consciousness. I was truly sad when I read the last page because I wanted to stay inside that quietly flowing stream.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately I feel like i can't relate to the poetry I used to love because I'm in a healthy and fulfilling relationship. Spencer Madsen, though, still has a beautiful way of articulating the millennial condition, whatever the fuck that means. You know what I mean. He gets it.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this in Nashville, then finished it at home in Baltimore, but everything in Spencer's book is still true: "It's never like how you thought it would be for as long as you thought it would."

But you keep going.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a simple loveliness to this collection of poems that I really enjoyed. They are sometimes as sad as the title indicates which, as the winter settles in, had a bit of a negative effect on my mood.