I don’t have a clue what I had read. Mlinko’s poems are way beyond my limited comprehension of poetry. I read the entire collection twice and couldn’t pick out one for my blog. It’s definitely not her; it’s me.

A lovely collection from a Korean-American poet who received an MFA and PhD in poetry. I like the way she incorporates Korean characters into English even though I don’t know the words. My favorite pieces includes “The Symmetry of Fish,” “My Bed Shakes and I Assume the Ghosts Are Finally Getting Me,” and of course, “Remember This When You’re Hungry.”

I am a lazy-ass poetry reader. I want the poems to come to me rather I come to the poems. I read Colm Tóibín’s collection almost to the end before I started to pick his style and content. Maybe he writes about places I have no clue, such as Dublin and Wexford. Of course I could pick up the political scene “In Washington DC” and “In the White House.” The pieces I enjoy have simple structures such as “Canal Water” and “Prayer to St Agnes.” My favorite piece is “Eve.” It is just hilarious.

A beautiful and heartfelt collection filled with human touch. John Lee Clark is a DeafBlind poet who writes in English Braille (EBAE). He even translated works from American Sign Language. His poems are enjoyable to read. One of my favorites is the biographical “A DeafBlind Poet”:

A DeafBlind poet doesn’t like to read sitting up. A DeafBlind poet likes to read Braille magazines on the john. A DeafBlind poet is in the habit of composing nineteenth-century letters and pressing Alt+S. A DeafBlind poet is a terrible student. A DeafBlind poet does a lot of groundbreaking research. A DeafBlind poet is always in demand. A DeafBlind poet has yet to be gainfully employed. A DeafBlind poet shares all his trade secrets with his children. A DeafBlind poet will not stop if police order him to. A DeafBlind poet used to like dogs but now prefers cats. A DeafBlind poet listens to his wife. A DeafBlind poet knits beautiful soft things for his dear friends. A DeafBlind poet doesn’t believe in “contributing to society.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this second collection of poems from Taije Silverman. From motherhood to misogyny to marriage, so many gems in there and I will be sharing a few of them in my poetry posts. I am starting to understand poetry little by little. Like learning snowboard, I just have to get past that painful period before could begin to enjoy poetry.

I had to read this collection three times to understand some of the poems. The first time I completely missed that his parents were divorced. The reason for the divorce was that his dad came out gay. In addition, Lam has many theories including God and smoking, but I can relate to him about drinking in “Anchor.” It’s a good collection from a Vietnamese-American fellow.

In his second collection, Best Barbarian, Roger Reeves delves into serious topics including violence, death, racism, police brutality, and fatherhood. His lyricism can be transpired from musicians including Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, and Outkast. A stunning read even if I didn’t understand everything. More revisits are needed.

In Philomath, which means “love of learning,” Walker-Figueroa experiments with the forms of verse. I am still not getting used to the spacings. Am I still supposed to read from left to right and line by line? This collection is way over my head, but I love the typography, which sets in Adobe Jensen, designed by Robert Slimbach.

In Civil Service, Claire Schwartz sheds light onto the dark corner of the world run by power, profit, property, and prisons. Here’s a chilling excerpt from “Lecture on the History of the House”:

Inside the house, a man hits you.
Then you understand:
your body is the window.
Inside, you are already outside.

Next door, the Soloist domesticates a tune.

Poetry is a door without a house.

Theory is productive of the known.
Poetry is productive of the unknown.

How, then, do you know
what is true? These walls, this foundation,
in the pages of glossy magazines.
The newspapers scratch their heads.
Again, the hunters, budgeting.

At the end of the day, you return to what is not common.

It’s a beautiful, powerful collection with some simple line illustrations.

I don’t quite understand her poems. Although she uses plain words, her language is a bit strange. I like a few pieces including “How Kind” and “The Ruins.” I’ll give the collection a reread in the near future.