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Dark Sparkler
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Poetry (2015)The lives of more than twenty-five actresses lost before their time—from Marilyn Monroe to Brittany Murphy—explored in haunting, provocative new work by an acclaimed poet and actress.
Amber Tamblyn is both an award-winning film and television actress and an acclaimed poet. As such she is deeply fascinated-and intimately familiar—with the toll exacted from young women whose lives are offered in sacrifice as starlets. The stories of these actresses, both famous and obscure-tragic stories of suicide, murder, obscurity, and other forms of death—inspired this empathic and emotionally charged collection of new poetic work.
Featuring subjects from Marilyn Monroe and Frances Farmer to Dana Plato and Brittany Murphy—and paired with original artwork commissioned for the book by luminaries including David Lynch, Adrian Tome, Marilyn Manson, and Marcel Dzama—Dark Sparkler is a surprising and provocative collection from a young artist of wide-ranging talent, culminating in an extended, confessional epilogue of astonishing candor and poetic command.
Actresses featured in Dark Sparkler include:
Marilyn Monroe
Brittany Murphy
Dana Plato
Jayne Mansfield
Jean Harlow
Dominique Dunne
Sharon Tate
Heather O’Rourke
Bridgette Andersen
Shannon Michelle Wilsey
Judith Barsi
Peg Entwistle
Carole Landis
Anissa Jones
Susan Peters
Barbara La Marr
Lucy Gordon
Sirkka Sari
Li Tobler
Thelma Todd
Samantha Smith
Lupe Valez
Taruni Sachdev
Rebecca Shaeffer
Amber Tamblyn is both an award-winning film and television actress and an acclaimed poet. As such she is deeply fascinated-and intimately familiar—with the toll exacted from young women whose lives are offered in sacrifice as starlets. The stories of these actresses, both famous and obscure-tragic stories of suicide, murder, obscurity, and other forms of death—inspired this empathic and emotionally charged collection of new poetic work.
Featuring subjects from Marilyn Monroe and Frances Farmer to Dana Plato and Brittany Murphy—and paired with original artwork commissioned for the book by luminaries including David Lynch, Adrian Tome, Marilyn Manson, and Marcel Dzama—Dark Sparkler is a surprising and provocative collection from a young artist of wide-ranging talent, culminating in an extended, confessional epilogue of astonishing candor and poetic command.
Actresses featured in Dark Sparkler include:
Marilyn Monroe
Brittany Murphy
Dana Plato
Jayne Mansfield
Jean Harlow
Dominique Dunne
Sharon Tate
Heather O’Rourke
Bridgette Andersen
Shannon Michelle Wilsey
Judith Barsi
Peg Entwistle
Carole Landis
Anissa Jones
Susan Peters
Barbara La Marr
Lucy Gordon
Sirkka Sari
Li Tobler
Thelma Todd
Samantha Smith
Lupe Valez
Taruni Sachdev
Rebecca Shaeffer
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2015
34 people are currently reading
3721 people want to read
About the author
Amber Tamblyn
16 books899 followersAmber Tamblyn is an author, actor, and director. She's been nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award for her work in television and film, including House M.D. and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Most recently, she wrote and directed the feature film Paint It Black. She is the author of three books of poetry, including the critically acclaimed bestseller Dark Sparkler, and a novel, Any Man, as well as a contributing writer for the New York Times. She lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
September 12, 2014
Amber Tamblyn's third volume of poetry, Dark Sparkler, examines the lives of actresses who died before their time (sometimes long before their time). Tamblyn covers a wide range of actresses - from Sharon Tate to Marilyn Monroe, from Brittany Murphy to Peg Entwistle - and includes an epilogue of more personal poems about the "business." Interspersed with her poems are original pieces of artwork by the likes of Adrian Tomine, David Lynch, and Marilyn Manson.
I'm definitely a fan of poetry, but I had never read anything by Tamblyn before and I had no idea what to expect - would this be the work of a spoiled Hollywood actress trying to forge a bond with these former starlets? Simple, rhyming lines? Just plain bad? Luckily, my worries were completely unfounded. Dark Sparkler completely blew me away. Tamblyn has an immensely strong grasp of metaphor and uses it to her advantage. Her prose never stumbles and she never pulls punches in this complex and haunting collection. Each poem is a portrait of a woman's life - sometimes the portraits are expansive, sometimes they're simply a snapshot, but they are all breathtaking. This book is absolutely wonderful with artwork that perfectly matches the tone.
In the foreword to this volume, Diane di Prima suggests that readers first take in Dark Sparkler how they normally would: read it straight through, pick out poems here and there, whatever works. Then, she instructs us to follow our curiosities...look up the women whose stories we're unfamiliar with (or the ones we already know)! Read their biographies, look at their photos, find interviews, do anything that strikes our fancy. I took di Prima's advice, but only partially. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting to finish the book before I found out more about Taruni Sachdev or Rebecca Schaeffer or Bridgette Andersen. I wanted to know them the way Tamblyn seemed to in her verse. I wanted to understand these words and stories. Once I read about one of these actresses lives, then I'd reread the poem and see what new dimensions the backstory brought to the work. Of course, the poems in Dark Sparkler can stand on their own, but we don't necessarily have to leave them on their own.
Favorites:
"Sharon Tate," "Peg Entwistle," "Jean Harlow," "Bridgette Andersen," "Samantha Smith"
I'm definitely a fan of poetry, but I had never read anything by Tamblyn before and I had no idea what to expect - would this be the work of a spoiled Hollywood actress trying to forge a bond with these former starlets? Simple, rhyming lines? Just plain bad? Luckily, my worries were completely unfounded. Dark Sparkler completely blew me away. Tamblyn has an immensely strong grasp of metaphor and uses it to her advantage. Her prose never stumbles and she never pulls punches in this complex and haunting collection. Each poem is a portrait of a woman's life - sometimes the portraits are expansive, sometimes they're simply a snapshot, but they are all breathtaking. This book is absolutely wonderful with artwork that perfectly matches the tone.
In the foreword to this volume, Diane di Prima suggests that readers first take in Dark Sparkler how they normally would: read it straight through, pick out poems here and there, whatever works. Then, she instructs us to follow our curiosities...look up the women whose stories we're unfamiliar with (or the ones we already know)! Read their biographies, look at their photos, find interviews, do anything that strikes our fancy. I took di Prima's advice, but only partially. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting to finish the book before I found out more about Taruni Sachdev or Rebecca Schaeffer or Bridgette Andersen. I wanted to know them the way Tamblyn seemed to in her verse. I wanted to understand these words and stories. Once I read about one of these actresses lives, then I'd reread the poem and see what new dimensions the backstory brought to the work. Of course, the poems in Dark Sparkler can stand on their own, but we don't necessarily have to leave them on their own.
Favorites:
"Sharon Tate," "Peg Entwistle," "Jean Harlow," "Bridgette Andersen," "Samantha Smith"
February 2, 2018
My reaction to this book is one of my typically long, circuitous discussions. If you have the time, you can read the entire thing here. If you'd like a shorter snippet, here you go:
This collection reminded me in many ways of Mikita Brottman’s short story collection, Thirteen Girls. I found myself curious about all the women in this collection, as I did when I read about the women who fell to serial killers in Brottman’s penetrating look at victims and the ways they are remembered. The titles of the poems are the names of the women they are about, and there were enough stories of women and children whose sorry tales I knew before reading this book to ensure I felt the power of the poems Tamblyn crafted to portray them. Seeing the most troublesome parts of their lives depicted in poetry forced me to rethink my attitudes towards some of the people Tamblyn wrote about.
For instance, “Lindsay Lohan.” Her poem is blank, an expanse of empty page under the title. At first it seemed almost like a joke, a jab at this crash-and-burn starlet’s lack of gravitas in her current role as media laughingstock. But upon reflection there was so much more involved in leaving the page empty. She’s still alive, still crashing and burning, and there is no sense that there will soon be an end to the wreckage of her life. As much as she is mocked in the press, she’s had the sort of life that should inspire empathy. But that doesn’t happen. Many people look at her and see a clown, a rich white girl who squandered all her chances, and there is some truth in that, but it’s not the sole truth about her.
Amber Tamblyn’s a few years older than Lindsay Lohan but they had similar beginnings – both had roles on soap operas when still children, and both began to get roles in movies geared toward younger audiences. How did Lohan end up a joke and Tamblyn end up still working, albeit writing and producing as much as she acts? Lohan’s shitty parents, determined to make a buck off their kids, played a role, as did the company young Lohan kept. Few made it out of the early-era Paris Hilton mob unscathed. Factor in drugs, mental illness, and a complete inability to keep addiction and illness under control and you end up with Lohan. Tamblyn’s parents knew more about the entertainment industry, and she was shaped by counter-culture influences that while embracing the entertainment industry still kept an honesty and authenticity about their lives, the sort of authenticity that makes hanging around with Paris unappealing.
It’s often a thin line that separates those who rise above and those who sink down and even her relatively fortunate background didn’t save Tamblyn from being hit on by James Woods when she was a teen. Knowing she and her friend were sixteen, James Woods evidently tried to lure the two to go to Las Vegas with him. She told him she was sixteen but that didn’t deter Woods. James Woods called Tamblyn a liar but she hit back harder, and interestingly he shut up when she did. After she refused to give any sort of quarter to his response that she lied, he likely thought the better of continuing the dialogue because the fury she unleashed upon him was both beautiful to behold and resulted in other actresses joining the #metoo revolt in his name, notably Elizabeth Perkins.
If Lindsay Lohan ever spoke up about the men whom her parents essentially sold her to in order to reap the rewards of her fame, would you care? Would you laugh? Would you think she was embellishing the story? She’s now essentially a yacht girl, and if you don’t know what that is, go look it up and ask what kind of shit must happen for an actress who started off so strongly, who had talent and beauty, to end up living such a life. By leaving that page blank, Tamblyn lets the reader construct their own poem about Lohan...
This collection reminded me in many ways of Mikita Brottman’s short story collection, Thirteen Girls. I found myself curious about all the women in this collection, as I did when I read about the women who fell to serial killers in Brottman’s penetrating look at victims and the ways they are remembered. The titles of the poems are the names of the women they are about, and there were enough stories of women and children whose sorry tales I knew before reading this book to ensure I felt the power of the poems Tamblyn crafted to portray them. Seeing the most troublesome parts of their lives depicted in poetry forced me to rethink my attitudes towards some of the people Tamblyn wrote about.
For instance, “Lindsay Lohan.” Her poem is blank, an expanse of empty page under the title. At first it seemed almost like a joke, a jab at this crash-and-burn starlet’s lack of gravitas in her current role as media laughingstock. But upon reflection there was so much more involved in leaving the page empty. She’s still alive, still crashing and burning, and there is no sense that there will soon be an end to the wreckage of her life. As much as she is mocked in the press, she’s had the sort of life that should inspire empathy. But that doesn’t happen. Many people look at her and see a clown, a rich white girl who squandered all her chances, and there is some truth in that, but it’s not the sole truth about her.
Amber Tamblyn’s a few years older than Lindsay Lohan but they had similar beginnings – both had roles on soap operas when still children, and both began to get roles in movies geared toward younger audiences. How did Lohan end up a joke and Tamblyn end up still working, albeit writing and producing as much as she acts? Lohan’s shitty parents, determined to make a buck off their kids, played a role, as did the company young Lohan kept. Few made it out of the early-era Paris Hilton mob unscathed. Factor in drugs, mental illness, and a complete inability to keep addiction and illness under control and you end up with Lohan. Tamblyn’s parents knew more about the entertainment industry, and she was shaped by counter-culture influences that while embracing the entertainment industry still kept an honesty and authenticity about their lives, the sort of authenticity that makes hanging around with Paris unappealing.
It’s often a thin line that separates those who rise above and those who sink down and even her relatively fortunate background didn’t save Tamblyn from being hit on by James Woods when she was a teen. Knowing she and her friend were sixteen, James Woods evidently tried to lure the two to go to Las Vegas with him. She told him she was sixteen but that didn’t deter Woods. James Woods called Tamblyn a liar but she hit back harder, and interestingly he shut up when she did. After she refused to give any sort of quarter to his response that she lied, he likely thought the better of continuing the dialogue because the fury she unleashed upon him was both beautiful to behold and resulted in other actresses joining the #metoo revolt in his name, notably Elizabeth Perkins.
If Lindsay Lohan ever spoke up about the men whom her parents essentially sold her to in order to reap the rewards of her fame, would you care? Would you laugh? Would you think she was embellishing the story? She’s now essentially a yacht girl, and if you don’t know what that is, go look it up and ask what kind of shit must happen for an actress who started off so strongly, who had talent and beauty, to end up living such a life. By leaving that page blank, Tamblyn lets the reader construct their own poem about Lohan...
August 26, 2015
These really didn't work for me. They didn't feel personal. Many of them were written in the first person, but since so many of them followed the same basic facts - young woman, thrust into fame, under pressure, struggles with the cruelty of celebrity, takes life or is killed by partner) - they all kinda blurred.
Imagine you find a picture on your friend's dresser. You ask them about it and your friend tells you a story of one of the most intense days of their life. You write a poem about it. You remember some of the visual clues and relay them. But you weren't there. You don't have the actual visceral experience of the day to color it. When I read your poem I don't know enough of your friend to fill in the gaps.
The imagery wasn't striking, for the most part, and much of it seemed either too generic or disjointed. And it seemed like the transformative power of visualizations was the intent, so when they failed to engage, they just didn't have enough substance to compensate. I just felt like the poems half-told a lot of stories that only make sense when you commit to a Google search. And I tried for a few but couldn't find enough context to be satisfied.
My favorite were the angry ones and the ones that carried a good rhythm, lilting or throbbing. These seemed to be the least specific to a single individual and the ones that captured experiences Tamblyn had known herself.
My exposure to poetry is limited but these pieces were a far cry from the intensely autobiographical and emotional work I enjoy at poetry slams. It seems like it was cathartic for her, though, which is swell, and obviously it's worth reflecting on how the media uses women.
Imagine you find a picture on your friend's dresser. You ask them about it and your friend tells you a story of one of the most intense days of their life. You write a poem about it. You remember some of the visual clues and relay them. But you weren't there. You don't have the actual visceral experience of the day to color it. When I read your poem I don't know enough of your friend to fill in the gaps.
The imagery wasn't striking, for the most part, and much of it seemed either too generic or disjointed. And it seemed like the transformative power of visualizations was the intent, so when they failed to engage, they just didn't have enough substance to compensate. I just felt like the poems half-told a lot of stories that only make sense when you commit to a Google search. And I tried for a few but couldn't find enough context to be satisfied.
My favorite were the angry ones and the ones that carried a good rhythm, lilting or throbbing. These seemed to be the least specific to a single individual and the ones that captured experiences Tamblyn had known herself.
My exposure to poetry is limited but these pieces were a far cry from the intensely autobiographical and emotional work I enjoy at poetry slams. It seems like it was cathartic for her, though, which is swell, and obviously it's worth reflecting on how the media uses women.
December 17, 2017
I've got a lot of feelings about this book, so bear with me Goodreads. (Or hide my reviews! Whichever.) It's a very interesting idea for a book, recounting the stories of all the actresses who died young, particularly given Tamblyn is an actress. (I'd feel some sort of bad for putting that up front instead of the fact that she's a writer and a good one, except that it's entirely up front in this project, it has to be, there's no other reason that this exists.) It did bring up some small uncomfortable questions of intersectionality and privilege of veneration even in death--clearly these women were chewed up by the Hollywood machine and spit out but how many other women who weren't famous, or beautiful, or white, have a book of poetry dedicated to them? That said, that isn't Tamblyn's point or aim, I think, and I do believe that not all books have to address all things. I'm just registering it because it kept creeping up on me as I read. /soapbox
The writing was uneven to me--sometimes very good, sometimes needed an editor. Not entirely sure what the personal poems at the end of the book were doing, why were those enclosed? Like I've spent 100 pages reading about dead actresses, then suddenly it's about the writer's marriage. Which were fine poems! Just like...maybe a different book.
Okay one last thing--I think the most interesting part of this project is the idea that the path to Hollywood fame is littered, LITERALLY CROWDED, with the bodies of women who died young, sometimes because of, or in service to, or related to, the search for fame in Hollywood: why would anyone choose this route? I think that's what I was most interested in and I didn't entirely get it from Tamblyn--the tension between her passion for acting or the lifestyle of whatever it is that draws someone to this, and the fact that many of your forebears did not survive this quest.
Also was not a huge fan of the Lindsay Lohan poem. I read in an interview that Tamblyn said she left that page blank because that isn't her story to write, but if that's true, then don't give her a page at all. Use your own name. Including her in a book about actresses who died before their time is implicitly objectifying her as being part of that club, even by leaving the page blank. (Also, it felt a little "Look how artsy I am, can you hear the gasps when I read this out loud?" which is not an aesthetic I'm into it, just my personal opinion.)
This review might have been meaner than I meant it to be. It's a beautiful book, like physically gorgeous, and the writing is good.
The writing was uneven to me--sometimes very good, sometimes needed an editor. Not entirely sure what the personal poems at the end of the book were doing, why were those enclosed? Like I've spent 100 pages reading about dead actresses, then suddenly it's about the writer's marriage. Which were fine poems! Just like...maybe a different book.
Okay one last thing--I think the most interesting part of this project is the idea that the path to Hollywood fame is littered, LITERALLY CROWDED, with the bodies of women who died young, sometimes because of, or in service to, or related to, the search for fame in Hollywood: why would anyone choose this route? I think that's what I was most interested in and I didn't entirely get it from Tamblyn--the tension between her passion for acting or the lifestyle of whatever it is that draws someone to this, and the fact that many of your forebears did not survive this quest.
Also was not a huge fan of the Lindsay Lohan poem. I read in an interview that Tamblyn said she left that page blank because that isn't her story to write, but if that's true, then don't give her a page at all. Use your own name. Including her in a book about actresses who died before their time is implicitly objectifying her as being part of that club, even by leaving the page blank. (Also, it felt a little "Look how artsy I am, can you hear the gasps when I read this out loud?" which is not an aesthetic I'm into it, just my personal opinion.)
This review might have been meaner than I meant it to be. It's a beautiful book, like physically gorgeous, and the writing is good.
April 12, 2015
5+ out of 5. In the introduction, Diane di Prima suggests that as you read you might get curious about the women referenced here. I can attest that, indeed, you will. You will read this collection and you will wonder about Peg Entwhistle or Laurel Gene. And you will google them. Just like you'll google Amber Tamblyn, because you will want to see that she is, in fact, okay. And you will take comfort in that - comfort in the knowledge that not all stories have an unhappy ending. It's the same reason we're okay with and not laughing at the fact that "Lindsay Lohan" is a blank poem.
Hope. And maybe a little love, too. We idolize and we lionize and we devour these women - but maybe, just maybe, this is a collection that'll make you pause before we do the same to the next young girl fresh off the bus with dreams of being a star...
Full review TK this week.
Hope. And maybe a little love, too. We idolize and we lionize and we devour these women - but maybe, just maybe, this is a collection that'll make you pause before we do the same to the next young girl fresh off the bus with dreams of being a star...
Full review TK this week.
August 3, 2016
Been trying to read a little more poetry. This one I kind of like. Some of the names I heard of and others I looked up. Interesting read.
November 6, 2015
This was ... a weird one. I'm not a fan of poetry (as I've said over and over again) but I've been taking an online poetry workshop in an attempt to better understand it and either that's helped or this was way better than my previous forays into modern poetry. Sure, the concept, while interesting at first glance, gets a bit repetitive after a while and a lot of the poems sound like they could use a lot more work but overall, I liked the imagery that the author's managed to create and I loved the spooky yet tragic feel the book had. This made me excited to read more poetry (though not excited enough to get higher than 3 stars)!
October 15, 2015
No one is more skeptical than me when it comes to actors-turned-writers (I'm looking at you, James Franco). But I was really, happily surprised by Tamblyn's style. The poems are visceral, the imagery is surprising and evocative, and the styles of the poem vary in interesting ways. I loved that I could read up on each actress in the book as I read, giving the already strong poems many more layers of depth and meaning. You can tell that Tamblyn put a lot into this book. I'm definitely planning to check out the rest of her work.
August 10, 2015
This is one of the most gripping collections of poetry I've read in a while. I'm so impressed with not just the cohesive nature of Tamblyn's book, but the way each poem feels so specifically personal and haunting. You'll spend a lot of time on Google getting to know these women and their stories, and feeling a whole range of emotions fresh every time you read the next poem. Highly recommend.
February 10, 2016
There's something both magical and lurid about this compendium of Hollywood actresses, many of whom were lured by the dreams and wrecked by the cruel business of the Tinseltown star factory. Tamblyn knows the industry better than most, a second-generation actor whose performances brought her leading roles in television and in feature films; she grew up in entertainment and sees it from an inside perspective that is haunting and illuminating. The meat of this provocative and fascinating collection is a necrology of starlets and extras whose quest for the limelight brought heartbreak and tragedy. Peg Entwistle, the famed fateful lass who jumped from the Hollywood sign, Jayne Mansfield, Thelma Todd and Frances Farmer are but a few of the ghosts who get to speak from beyond the grave in this surreal re-imagining of a kind of Spoon River Anthology. One of the best poems in the collection comes from the frighteningly convincing voice of Sharon Tate's unborn child, slain along with Tate by the bizarre murderous members of the Manson Family. The entire staging of this book, with artwork by such luminaries as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, and Tamblyn's actor father Russ ("Riff" in the Oscar-winning "West Side Story"), colored pages, high-end graphic design and a meta-narrative informed by Tamblyn's own rocky relationship to success in Showbiz, is pure Hollywood, and it works in so many ways to capture the glam and the sham and the fascinating world of celebrity. It's more than that, though. It's rock solid poetry, energetic and bursting with surprise at every turn. "I'll be the girl they say pink things to/ so weightless she arrives by ghost." This is a sparkling, ambitious (in all the right ways), unapologetic rip down the center of the silver screen. Out steps our star. Wow!
June 21, 2015
I am positive I can't give anything higher than 2 stars to book of poetry that contains this line about Brittany Murphy: "A pill lodges in the inner pocket of her flesh coat." Flesh coat? Eek. Inspired by the tragic ends of young actresses, each poem tries to be insightful but feels more exploitative than anything. Proof: one poem is told from the perspective of Sharon Tate's unborn child . . . as Tate was being murdered. No thank you.
December 4, 2014
Loving these poems! I won this book and was lucky to be a first reader. Just like the author suggests, I am anxiously googling and obsessing over the women I am reading about in this book.
March 10, 2016
I really loved this collection of poems and the unique way Amber told these stories of deaths of many young women actresses. The artwork, which goes along with each poem is very descriptive. I recognized most of the named women and enjoyed the way Amber tells their story and leads you to their cause of death. She has a way of bringing the reader into the moments before these talented women's lives ended and you get caught up in the highs and lows of what is lost. Many of the young women left us before they had realized their full potential, so who knows what they could have contributed to the movie world or just the world in general. There are some question marks for a couple of the actresses that only time will tell how their lives will end. The paintings/drawings that are throughout the book matches the particular poem that they are next to. The one for me that seems to be the most gripping is the one for Sharon Tate painted by Marilyn Manson. All I can say is wow! I also found the one for Peg Entwistle, painted by Russ Tamblyn gave me a real sense of the moment she fell to her death; David Lynch's was also powerful. Each painting and the poems give you something to truly think about and seem to capture the true spirit of the written words on each page.
November 12, 2015
I would give this book a 2.5. It shows promise and I was attracted to the idea of Amber writing poetry. It's stronger than James Franco's book, but the real test was whether the author could convince me to have a stake in these poems and at the end of the day, almost. Amber has potential as a poet and should keep on working at it. She seems like a deep and thoughtful person living in a really weird and sometimes horrible industry. So glad she is writing poetry!
August 20, 2021
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
I thought this collection of poems was dark, funny, sad, and uplifting all at the same time. There were some interesting takes, the added artwork was also pretty incredible. I found myself hooked from the first poem.
It could have been 5 stars, but I did feel as though some of the poems lacked a little clarity.
I thought this collection of poems was dark, funny, sad, and uplifting all at the same time. There were some interesting takes, the added artwork was also pretty incredible. I found myself hooked from the first poem.
It could have been 5 stars, but I did feel as though some of the poems lacked a little clarity.
September 21, 2015
Amazing! A few months ago, I watched an interview Amber Tamblyn gave to AOL Studios and since then I've been really curious about this book. It's the first time I read something written by her and I'm so impressed! She has her own writing style. I think the subject was very interesting too. I thought I would feel sad reading this kind of poems, but I didn't. The sadness I felt wasn't the one that usually make people wanna kill themselves, but the one that makes them wanna change the world and try new things before they get to that point. So, yes, her words inspired me.
I was really intrigued by the Lindsay Lohan poem. At first, I couldn't understand it at all. So I searched for more interviews and I found one where Amber explains it: "For me, I did not put that in there to say, 'You’re next.' I put that in there to say, 'I am not going to do you what everyone else does,' which is write a poem about your life — which is not my life. I am not going to project onto your story. I am giving this back to you to write. This belongs to you. Your poem has not been written yet, and it belongs to you."
That's so respectful and genius. I loved it.
I was really intrigued by the Lindsay Lohan poem. At first, I couldn't understand it at all. So I searched for more interviews and I found one where Amber explains it: "For me, I did not put that in there to say, 'You’re next.' I put that in there to say, 'I am not going to do you what everyone else does,' which is write a poem about your life — which is not my life. I am not going to project onto your story. I am giving this back to you to write. This belongs to you. Your poem has not been written yet, and it belongs to you."
That's so respectful and genius. I loved it.
October 26, 2015
So I got this book because I never heard of it and she was supposed to be a speaker at a reading festival in my area. I like how she tried to give each actress her story and it's clear this book took a lot of research. With the exceptions of Marilyn Monroe and Sharon Tate, who I only know of because of how they died, I had never even heard of any of the actresses in here. To see this many young actresses all gone, many not known to me and probably others and all dying tragically is very heart-wrenching so I think it's wonderful that Tamblyn chose to write these poems for them. It's like giving them another voice. And Marilyn Manson's artwork for the Manson murder: well-done. It was actually my favorite picture in the book, it presented the image of what happened quite well. With that being said even though I like the topic, I did not find her writing itself to be that great. There were moments when I felt that it was excellent poetry and moments when I wondered why she wrote the poem at all because it didn't flow well, it was hard for me to decipher the imagery and relate it to the actress etc.. With that being said I give this work 3 stars.
July 9, 2015
I was intrigued by the subject matter when I read an article about this book of poems. Now that I've read it, I'm even more intrigue.
Many of the poems are raw and devastating. (I audibly gasped on a few occasions, because what I read or saw so stirred me.) And like Tamblyn while creating this work, I found myself obsessively reading more on the actresses featured (previously known to me and unknown alike).
And while the subject (and admittedly the author herself) drew me to the work, what perhaps most reached me and evoked greet thought and feeling was the honest and sometimes dark, seemingly more personal. Without giving it away, I found myself better able to relate to it from my own personal experiences, which in turn better helped me identify with the other pieces in the book. (Basically: actresses--they're just like us, right?) Women live, they sometimes die too young and tragically. But they love, they have hopes and dreams that sometimes come to fruition or sometimes fail.
Highly recommend this poignant and thought-provoking work.
Many of the poems are raw and devastating. (I audibly gasped on a few occasions, because what I read or saw so stirred me.) And like Tamblyn while creating this work, I found myself obsessively reading more on the actresses featured (previously known to me and unknown alike).
And while the subject (and admittedly the author herself) drew me to the work, what perhaps most reached me and evoked greet thought and feeling was the honest and sometimes dark, seemingly more personal. Without giving it away, I found myself better able to relate to it from my own personal experiences, which in turn better helped me identify with the other pieces in the book. (Basically: actresses--they're just like us, right?) Women live, they sometimes die too young and tragically. But they love, they have hopes and dreams that sometimes come to fruition or sometimes fail.
Highly recommend this poignant and thought-provoking work.
March 11, 2016
I fell down the Wikipedia rabbit hole with this one
What a riveting collection of poetry. Amber Tamblyn is a well known child star in her own right and has continued to be present in many kinds of films/roles as she has grown up. Over the years, she has written poetry and even published two previous collections. The most incredible part about this particular book is the depths she went to to be able to bring an artistic vision to these long-forgotten, heartbreaking and sometimes misinterpreted stories of other young actresses who passed before their time. The sadness and darkness she shows us are palpable. Her research (conducted over 6 years) is so thorough and weighed heavily on her to see how fame brought so much destruction to lives that had parallels to her own. It is a remarkable memorial to these women and important for us to remember as well.
Her poems were so lyrical, heart-wrenching and vivid. She is very talented and I hope she continues to create (in any medium) for a long time to come!
What a riveting collection of poetry. Amber Tamblyn is a well known child star in her own right and has continued to be present in many kinds of films/roles as she has grown up. Over the years, she has written poetry and even published two previous collections. The most incredible part about this particular book is the depths she went to to be able to bring an artistic vision to these long-forgotten, heartbreaking and sometimes misinterpreted stories of other young actresses who passed before their time. The sadness and darkness she shows us are palpable. Her research (conducted over 6 years) is so thorough and weighed heavily on her to see how fame brought so much destruction to lives that had parallels to her own. It is a remarkable memorial to these women and important for us to remember as well.
Her poems were so lyrical, heart-wrenching and vivid. She is very talented and I hope she continues to create (in any medium) for a long time to come!
July 20, 2015
Memento Mori:
A reminder of mortality.
ORIGIN: Latin.
Translation: Remember that you must die.
-Last page of Dark Sparkler by Amber Tamblyn.
I might sound like a masochist but I love reading depressing books when I am depressed. It must be the 16 year old in me that refuses to die. Oh, well, that's a bad phrase. However, I digress, as I understand it, this Amber Tamblyn's third poetry collection but this is my first collection of hers I've read. Boy, is it a doozy.
Dark Sparkler is a bleak memoria of actresses who died before their time under tragic circumstances. Some of these actresses I've heard of; some of them I have not. These poems are pretty powerful and tear-inducing. Not to mention heartbreaking and brutal.
Although, I enjoyed the poems, I really enjoyed the epilogue which focuses on Tamblyn herself. It was nice to intimately see into her mind and her neuroses. I'm probably going to check out her previous collections.
A reminder of mortality.
ORIGIN: Latin.
Translation: Remember that you must die.
-Last page of Dark Sparkler by Amber Tamblyn.
I might sound like a masochist but I love reading depressing books when I am depressed. It must be the 16 year old in me that refuses to die. Oh, well, that's a bad phrase. However, I digress, as I understand it, this Amber Tamblyn's third poetry collection but this is my first collection of hers I've read. Boy, is it a doozy.
Dark Sparkler is a bleak memoria of actresses who died before their time under tragic circumstances. Some of these actresses I've heard of; some of them I have not. These poems are pretty powerful and tear-inducing. Not to mention heartbreaking and brutal.
Although, I enjoyed the poems, I really enjoyed the epilogue which focuses on Tamblyn herself. It was nice to intimately see into her mind and her neuroses. I'm probably going to check out her previous collections.
March 31, 2017
This is a really quirky, honest, and creative book of feminist poetry and discourse. While it focuses on the lives of young females in Hollywood, it really transcends to all females.
Because I'm not familiar with many historically famous actresses, I felt the need to do my own research on these famous women before/during/after reading the poems. I NEEDED to learn more. This is one of the genius things about the writing in this book - it isn't flowery or over-the-top "poetic", but weaves in facts between the hints and piecings of a life. The author even includes an epilogue, which focuses more tightly on her research efforts and the writing-editing-publishing process. In this way, she includes herself among the list of other actresses, as she is a working actress in Hollywood. If you're interested in hearing her talk about the book, and read some of the poems, there is an excellent YouTube video from The Strand bookshop where the author is interviewed by Ira Glass.
Because I'm not familiar with many historically famous actresses, I felt the need to do my own research on these famous women before/during/after reading the poems. I NEEDED to learn more. This is one of the genius things about the writing in this book - it isn't flowery or over-the-top "poetic", but weaves in facts between the hints and piecings of a life. The author even includes an epilogue, which focuses more tightly on her research efforts and the writing-editing-publishing process. In this way, she includes herself among the list of other actresses, as she is a working actress in Hollywood. If you're interested in hearing her talk about the book, and read some of the poems, there is an excellent YouTube video from The Strand bookshop where the author is interviewed by Ira Glass.
December 1, 2015
This is a collection of poetry honoring actresses who died in unfortunate (generally tragic but not always) ways. Some of them I've heard of and some were vaguely familiar and some, of course, I had absolutely no idea who they were. That's almost the beauty of this collection---it brings these women back to life and, hopefully, will encourage people to learn more about them.
Obviously I know Amber Tamblyn as an actress (she's actually been in some of my favorite movies) but she's a really talented poet. You can tell that she feels empathy for all these women (and children, in a few of the cases) and it makes reading this book a haunting experience.
It's not for everyone---probably some will find it morbid---but I hope Dark Sparkler finds its people. And I hope Amber Tamblyn keeps writing.
Obviously I know Amber Tamblyn as an actress (she's actually been in some of my favorite movies) but she's a really talented poet. You can tell that she feels empathy for all these women (and children, in a few of the cases) and it makes reading this book a haunting experience.
It's not for everyone---probably some will find it morbid---but I hope Dark Sparkler finds its people. And I hope Amber Tamblyn keeps writing.
April 15, 2015
Sad and intriguing collection of poems distilled from the tragic lives of actresses, some quite obscure (I had trouble finding them with Google - there's an 8pg list of search terms consisting of actress' names and deaths, many of whom died young and holy dude will that take a bit to go through and reconcile with those poems based on actresses I couldn't find initially).
Included in and around those poems based on real women are anxieties that Tamblyn herself must share with these women - the pressure to perform, to conform, to be on display, and to be the object of obsession. (One particular poem is chilling in that it is blank, wordless, as if it is waiting for its subject's final move before filling in. I won't spoil that one by telling you who it is)
Included in and around those poems based on real women are anxieties that Tamblyn herself must share with these women - the pressure to perform, to conform, to be on display, and to be the object of obsession. (One particular poem is chilling in that it is blank, wordless, as if it is waiting for its subject's final move before filling in. I won't spoil that one by telling you who it is)
June 1, 2015
my husband heard about this book on "pop culture happy hour" and told me "you like tragic females! you should read this!" so i did. i read it with my ipad on my lap so i could google all of the famous actresses that i hadn't heard of before. i would definitely suggest this as a way to better understand some of the imagery in the poems.
i wasn't really sure about the epilogue where tamblyn includes some of her own emails. is she throwing herself in with the tragic females because she thinks that's where her future is? or is this a "there but for the grace of god go i" thing. seemed a bit overly dramatic for me since...they...y'know. aren't poems.
overall: a fun way to spend a rainy sunday afternoon, but i was confused by the epilogue.
i wasn't really sure about the epilogue where tamblyn includes some of her own emails. is she throwing herself in with the tragic females because she thinks that's where her future is? or is this a "there but for the grace of god go i" thing. seemed a bit overly dramatic for me since...they...y'know. aren't poems.
overall: a fun way to spend a rainy sunday afternoon, but i was confused by the epilogue.
February 16, 2017
I LOVED Dark Sparkler. The first half was good, I whipped through it maybe a little too fast for my enjoyment's sake, but when I picked it up a second time, again at the halfway mark, it started taking flight for good. it SOARED, for me. it got progressively more and more excellent, extending into the epilogue section where you get to see into Tamblyn's process creating the book and relating to the women she wrote about. I reached the last poem and was gutted that there were no more.
I'm extremely happy I picked up her other book, BANG DITTO, at the same time, so I don't have to wait to read more of Tamblyn's poetry. I don't know if it can stand up to DARK SPARKLER, but I'd be happy to just spend a little more time in the poet's mind.
I'm extremely happy I picked up her other book, BANG DITTO, at the same time, so I don't have to wait to read more of Tamblyn's poetry. I don't know if it can stand up to DARK SPARKLER, but I'd be happy to just spend a little more time in the poet's mind.
July 25, 2015
This is an amazing book of poetry by Amber Tamblyn, the star of the "Joan of Arcadia" TV series and also of several movies. Each one of these poems is about the final moments of a particular person who died before their time. Most are actresses, many not well known, but you can look them up on google, which makes you want to read the poems all over again. But that's not just a marketing gimmick. The poems are very well written and poignant. A few recognizable people are included such as Sharon Tate, Marilyn Monroe, and Lindsay Lohan; and the poem about Lohan is especially interesting. I will read this book again. This is Tamblyn's third book of poetry. I hope she keeps writing.
December 1, 2015
Honestly this only gets the second star because of the artwork inside. This is totally uninteresting freshman writing class level work. Writing a book of poetry inspired by actresses who died too young is already walking into pretty obscene territory, but writing all of those poems poorly is just offensive. The Sharon Tate poem in particular highlights how little care Tamblyn had for the actual people she was writing about. They're all props whose poems can barely be distinguished from each other because the poet didn't take the time to familiarize herself with much more than a wiki bio a cause of a death.
April 6, 2016
One of the nominees for the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards.
While I loved the concept of this book, googled and read about every single of the names, I absolutely hated the poems themselves. It's like the author just took bits and pieces on the info on the actresses from wiki, threw that in the poem and then added alcohol, drugs, sex, lots of nonsense, mixed it all up and spit out a "poem".
While I loved the concept of this book, googled and read about every single of the names, I absolutely hated the poems themselves. It's like the author just took bits and pieces on the info on the actresses from wiki, threw that in the poem and then added alcohol, drugs, sex, lots of nonsense, mixed it all up and spit out a "poem".
August 10, 2023
Picked this up on a whim from the poetry section of the library because I LOVE amber tamblyn. Didn’t know she was a a writer too! and a fabulous one at that! I think this lil book of poems would be best enjoyed, as the introduction suggests, by being read and reread multiple times over many months and years, taking notes in the margins, and researching the stories of these women for oneself. Alas, I must abide by the rules of the public library and “return the book” and “not deface it with my own commentary”
August 25, 2017
Dark Sparkler is a cutting book of poetry about feminism, fame, and the way that society devours young women. It's experimental and deeply poignant. I want to return to it with the time to go through and research each of the actresses mentioned as I think that will make it even more enriching!
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