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Down The Dash
From the city lights to the barren west, this book of poetry covers it all. By playing with new technology that is affecting society, along with the simple basic forms of writing, Down the Dash offers a variety of poems to entice all readers. Whether it is writing about writing, or about nature and cities, it's all here. Copeland uses a variety of techniques and styles to keep the reader interested in what she has to say. With her use of diverse subjects (that are both current and modern) she will keep your interest right up to the last page.
- GenresPoetry
86 pages, Paperback
First published January 18, 2011
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 11, 2016
Read as a first reads selection.
I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by this collection. I expected that the poems would encompass the experience of the West and Southwest portions of the country, based on the subtitle, "poetry across the roads of the west." I was instead given a collection of poems that, except in a few instance addressed a life that may have been lived anywhere. Ah, the power of words to set expectations.
This is not to say the poems are without merit and there are a number of very strong poems included; my favorites being "Experience" and "Captured You." The second being a concise description of a photo and what is found once it is viewed. You can almost hear the clicks of the camera through the use of ellipses. Another well written poem is "American Life."
The overriding theme of the collection seems to be writing, the art of writing and the debt owed to previous generations of artists. I think the collection may have worked better if the best of these poems were selected. I believe it would give the reader a more fulfilling understanding of the author's message. Some felt like they were works in progress and would have benefitted from some tightening up.
There were also a couple of misspellings that when writing poetry may be intended to create double meaning, but these felt like an editing issue.
I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by this collection. I expected that the poems would encompass the experience of the West and Southwest portions of the country, based on the subtitle, "poetry across the roads of the west." I was instead given a collection of poems that, except in a few instance addressed a life that may have been lived anywhere. Ah, the power of words to set expectations.
This is not to say the poems are without merit and there are a number of very strong poems included; my favorites being "Experience" and "Captured You." The second being a concise description of a photo and what is found once it is viewed. You can almost hear the clicks of the camera through the use of ellipses. Another well written poem is "American Life."
The overriding theme of the collection seems to be writing, the art of writing and the debt owed to previous generations of artists. I think the collection may have worked better if the best of these poems were selected. I believe it would give the reader a more fulfilling understanding of the author's message. Some felt like they were works in progress and would have benefitted from some tightening up.
There were also a couple of misspellings that when writing poetry may be intended to create double meaning, but these felt like an editing issue.
September 27, 2015
I received this book as a part of the goodreads book giveaways.
I had hoped to get it because of the subtitle. I thought I would be receiving a book about poems the Southwest and was genuinely looking forward to them, but found the collection was more focused on writing. While that's fine I found the subtitle misleading.
My biggest issue with this collection was what appeared to be a lack of editing. One or two mistakes will catch my attention but not make me upset or distracted, but throughout the book many errors existed.
The poetry itself gave me a lot of mixed feelings. A lot of the poems seemed like incomplete thoughts that had been given up on. The bouncing back and forth from strong to weak poetry also made me question the dearness of the words to the poet. As a writer myself I often miss glaring horrors in my own works. combined with the editing errors I am led to believe the author was her own editor to her disadvantage.
I had hoped to get it because of the subtitle. I thought I would be receiving a book about poems the Southwest and was genuinely looking forward to them, but found the collection was more focused on writing. While that's fine I found the subtitle misleading.
My biggest issue with this collection was what appeared to be a lack of editing. One or two mistakes will catch my attention but not make me upset or distracted, but throughout the book many errors existed.
The poetry itself gave me a lot of mixed feelings. A lot of the poems seemed like incomplete thoughts that had been given up on. The bouncing back and forth from strong to weak poetry also made me question the dearness of the words to the poet. As a writer myself I often miss glaring horrors in my own works. combined with the editing errors I am led to believe the author was her own editor to her disadvantage.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews