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Mar 18, 2024 Philip Dodd rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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Autumn Songs by Anahit Arustamyan is a book of prose poems, dedicated to the memory of her cousin, Nara, who died from cancer in September, 2023. She refers to Nara as her sister, as they grew up together. The prose poems were written during the autumn of 2023, so some of them are reflections of and meditations on that season. A sad but not depressing collection of poetry. Anahit Arustamyan is Armenian, but writes in English, her second language. Because English is not her first language, she us Autumn Songs by Anahit Arustamyan is a book of prose poems, dedicated to the memory of her cousin, Nara, who died from cancer in September, 2023. She refers to Nara as her sister, as they grew up together. The prose poems were written during the autumn of 2023, so some of them are reflections of and meditations on that season. A sad but not depressing collection of poetry. Anahit Arustamyan is Armenian, but writes in English, her second language. Because English is not her first language, she uses it in an unusual way, unique way, which creates often puzzling, unexpected turns in her lines. As we grow older, we all have to deal with the death of those close to us, so the theme of her book every reader can relate to. In one prose poem, Anahit Arustamyan opens Nara's wardrobe, to see her clothes hanging there that she will never wear again. In another, she looks at Nara's pencil on a table that she used to draw portraits with that never again will she hold in her hand. Your Pencil Is Still On The Table is one of the most moving poems in the collection.
One of the things that makes a good poem, I think, is a memorable line, one worth quoting, going back to read again. There are many memorable lines in Autumn Songs. In The Dew, for example, there is the line: "The dew disappeared with its diamond shine."
"Is life a bird that flies not to be back?" A question asked in It Was Not Long Ago, another memorable line. In Hey, Autumn Leaf, I liked the lines:
"Who used to be a young runner
now steps with a walking stick."
My Doll, Rosy, one of the poems I liked best, is about a doll that fell from a windowsill when Anahit Arustamyan was a girl.
"The crane flocks seem snowflakes in the bubbled sky." A line from An Autumn Song.
"A life is a voyage without a ship.
The last harbour is above all seas." Lines from These Pages.
Such lines make me think of English translations of Chinese and Japanese verse, the poetry of the east. Anahit Arustamyan writes in her own original, unique way, and her work deserves to be read. ...more

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Dec 09, 2023 Anahit Arustamyan rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

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