Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

Not going to get to 20 or anywhere near that number, but here's what I've read in whole or (in the case of Norman Nicholson's Collected Poems) in part.


1. On the Verge: Poets of the Palisades III, ed. Paul Nash and Denise La Neve
2. A Cruelty Special to Our Species, Emily Jungmin Yoon
3. Nightingale, Paisley Rekdal
4. Three Poems, Hannah Sullivan
5. Deaf Republic, Ilya Kaminsky
6. Ledger Domain, David Burr
7. Collected Poems, Norman Nicholson
8. Rise Wildly, Tina Kelley

Thanks for posting, George. Did you enjoy Deaf Republic as much as I did? I'd like to see your reviews or ratings on these books, too.

Thanks for sharing, George. I always enjoy your lists, and quality does trump quantity (and one could argue a "collected poems" should count for at least two! :-)). If I recall correctly, I chose A Cruelty Special to Our Species as my favorite read of 2018. I also loved Rekdal's Animal Eye and would be curious to hear how you thought Nightingale compared with her earlier work.

Alarie wrote: "Thanks for posting, George. Did you enjoy Deaf Republic as much as I did? I'd like to see your reviews or ratings on these books, too."

Hi Alarie, thanks for your note. I did admire Deaf Republic but didn't review it. I wasn't as blown away as other reviewers, it left me a little cold, but it's a very impressive book and imaginative feat. The books I love best are the ones I keep going back to, again and again, to read certain poems and revisit certain lines...I haven't done so with this book.

Jenna wrote: "Thanks for sharing, George. I always enjoy your lists, and quality does trump quantity (and one could argue a "collected poems" should count for at least two! :-)). If I recall correctly, I chose A..."

Jenna, thanks for this. I actually didn't love A Cruelty Special to Our Species; despite the material, which is wrenching, it felt distanced and somewhat researched to me, a project to write and to read.

I loved--loved--Nightingale--and also Three Poems by Hannah Sullivan, which is a remarkable book.