It's not a bad review at all. I have to agree,The Diary of a Thief is the best piece in the whole collection. It is such a compelling work and I, who enjoy most all your writing still feel it is the very best of yours I have read.
Michael-- I think it depends how you use the word "bad". If you think a bad review is one that trashes the book, then, no, it's not a bad review. If you think a bad review is one that abuses language and spelling conventions and treats a chapbook as if it were a novel, then yes, it is a bad review.
Funny thing is that when I was reading it I thought to myeslf there was something very different about the presentation and you are right about the fact that it reads like a review of a novel.
I will say, I often view books of poetry in two contexts. One, the poetry itself and the other, how that poetry comes together and connects or not. While the second can have a bearing on the success of the book overall, I have seen some really out of this world poetic art that was none the less poorly integrated with other work that left an overall disjointed read with no thread running through it at all.
I should also remember that I still have one young enough daughter to know that there is bad and there is bad. Quite frankly bad is not a good word to use as a benchmark for anything.
I am so looking forward to reading this collection. The review was kind of ... oddly worded, maybe even clumsy. But you are one of my favorites, and good or "bad" reviews aside, you kick ass in my book. ;-) Congrats!!
It's not a bad review at all. I have to agree,The Diary of a Thief is the best piece in the whole collection. It is such a compelling work and I, who enjoy most all your writing still feel it is the very best of yours I have read.
ReplyDeleteMichael-- I think it depends how you use the word "bad". If you think a bad review is one that trashes the book, then, no, it's not a bad review. If you think a bad review is one that abuses language and spelling conventions and treats a chapbook as if it were a novel, then yes, it is a bad review.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is that when I was reading it I thought to myeslf there was something very different about the presentation and you are right about the fact that it reads like a review of a novel.
ReplyDeleteI will say, I often view books of poetry in two contexts. One, the poetry itself and the other, how that poetry comes together and connects or not. While the second can have a bearing on the success of the book overall, I have seen some really out of this world poetic art that was none the less poorly integrated with other work that left an overall disjointed read with no thread running through it at all.
I should also remember that I still have one young enough daughter to know that there is bad and there is bad. Quite frankly bad is not a good word to use as a benchmark for anything.
Christine.
ReplyDeleteI am so looking forward to reading this collection. The review was kind of ... oddly worded, maybe even clumsy. But you are one of my favorites, and good or "bad" reviews aside, you kick ass in my book. ;-) Congrats!!