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Valentine Place: Poems
A collection of more than forty poems probes every intimate angle, good and bad, of love, commitment, marriage, betrayal, divorce, and the "pleasures of pain and desire." Simultaneous.
- GenresPoetry
Paperback
First published February 1, 1996
16 people want to read
About the author
David Lehman
125 books56 followersDavid Lehman is a poet and the series editor for The Best American Poetry series. He teaches at The New School in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2024
Not much for me to get excited about in this collection by Lehman, whose poetry I have admired and enjoyed in the past.
This was clearly a dark Valentine, poems that examined marriages, affairs, the tired moments in each and the end of those experiences.
The opening and closing poems were the most enjoyable and there is a section of individually numbered poems, that I enjoyed more for the titles and the idea of the poems, but still felt some of those poems missed the mark.
The biggest criticism I have of this collection are the longer poems, all of them are narrative in style, but the problem is in the writing. There was no rhythm, no flow to the poems and in long, narrative poems (some of these went on for four or more pages), by the time you reach the end, you still have no idea why the poem exists in the first place. Every so often, I would stumble over a clever word combination or an interesting description, but none of it enough to garner even a second star.
This was clearly a dark Valentine, poems that examined marriages, affairs, the tired moments in each and the end of those experiences.
The opening and closing poems were the most enjoyable and there is a section of individually numbered poems, that I enjoyed more for the titles and the idea of the poems, but still felt some of those poems missed the mark.
The biggest criticism I have of this collection are the longer poems, all of them are narrative in style, but the problem is in the writing. There was no rhythm, no flow to the poems and in long, narrative poems (some of these went on for four or more pages), by the time you reach the end, you still have no idea why the poem exists in the first place. Every so often, I would stumble over a clever word combination or an interesting description, but none of it enough to garner even a second star.
March 16, 2009
Frankly, I was surprised that so many good poets and critics, like Ashbery and Hollander, actually praised this book. The poems themselves read like prose pieces (that's what I get for reading Ferlinghetti last, right?) and largely were about adultery. It could be my own fault that I didn't really like this collection, as none of the poems really spoke tome, but I'm not so sure.
There were a few nice images to be found every now and then, and it was strange to read "The World Trade Center" in a book published in 1996, but that's pretty much all that stopped me from skimming through the entire book. Many poems just were too long (the better ones were the shorter ones), and some were outright confusing. Not a collection that induces me to read more by Lehman.
There were a few nice images to be found every now and then, and it was strange to read "The World Trade Center" in a book published in 1996, but that's pretty much all that stopped me from skimming through the entire book. Many poems just were too long (the better ones were the shorter ones), and some were outright confusing. Not a collection that induces me to read more by Lehman.
August 6, 2013
Not very good poetry, but pretty good prose.
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May 10, 2013Coll.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews