Somewhat Small

by Trev Cimenski

This is Trev's second collection of poems about death and sad things.

Genres: Poetry

115 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2023

Reviews

[Siera Mae]

I inhaled Some What Small
And now the letters hang off the tip of my tongue,
Like dangling off a cliff,
My exhale might blow them into the wind.
But it’s okay because they will land softly on my bunny’s ears.

He always flops when he hears poems,
And nibbles the pages.

I hope that’s okay.

[Karen]

Found this young man on Instagram, reading short thoughts about his day through a lens of sadness and melancholy. His voice is inviting and his rumpled good looks reminiscent of the great romantic poets.

Some What Small is Cimenski’s second book of poems.
Small enough to tuck in the same pocket as your phone, with line drawings of a moth butterfly and a little boy chasing his hat.

The poems speak to the loss of a beloved, and the struggles of getting through the simple tasks of everyday life.

I am in love with his writing and plan to purchase every book this poet chooses to write.

[Eric Overby]

Found him on Instagram. I listened to the audiobook version of Somewhat Small and it was perfect. Recorded on a digital audio recorder, it has the feel of everything that I love about reading and writing poetry. Like it’s a part of your real life. A scribbling of thoughts and a record of some real moment in time. The poems, the narration, the audio, all perfect.
5 stars.

[Marta Coelho]

There wasn't a single thing I didn't love about this book.

[Sam]

3.5 stars
This was a nice time. I still favour Orangutan Teeth over Somewhat Small but I enjoyed this none the less.
Standout poems for me -
God is a woman
Dog Ears
The Driver - I felt the stress from this one, lucky for me the page right after tells you to take a break
Traits
Untitled - I read this one again immediately

I'm not sure if the typos were an "on purpose" stylistic thing or not, but if not, there is quite a lot of them.

[kate]

fucking perfect.

[Amanda Esthelm]

I love how lighthearted these are, and every few pages there will be a line that resonates deeper. It is a very balanced book of poems and I enjoyed it

[Naomi]

I’d give this a 3.5. I liked a lot of the poems in the beginning of the book. There were quite a few typos which was a little annoying but overall this was an interesting read.

[Kayla]

Another treasure from one of my favorite word artists.

[Rani]

I do love things, like this book. These poems feel like watching puppies play and summer evenings with friends and too much wine and getting your heart broken. Maybe I've not read enough poetry to make this comparison but this feels refreshing and unpretentious and goofy and fun and basically I wish I could live inside this poetry book. I've scribbled 'Coasters' on a piece of paper and stuck it to my wall. That's the review.

[Michael Tavon]

His poems in written form are interesting enough for me to read but I do prefer when he performs his work on social media. Overall he’s a talented observational poet.

[Konnilaree Sanders]

I love the way he shares thoughts that turn into poetry 😍

[Erin O'Mahony]

I love these little poems. They tickle something small and mad and in need of love. so I am glad this book can love it.

[Nini]

I really enjoyed this. Love Trev as an artist. Separating the art from the artist for a moment, though, I have some qualms / constructive criticism.

This felt a little rushed. Partly because of the unnecessary typos that I don’t think added any meaning to the poems but instead made them more difficult to read.

And also because some of the poems just felt like page fillers. Yeah art is subjective, and all it needs to do is make you feel something. But some of these poems didn’t really feel like poems. One is literally just the line “Take a break here.” Idk. If that makes you feel something, maybe this book was more meant for you than it was for me.

[Jack]

Cimenski's second collection of poetry delivered a host of poems that almost force the reader to emote in some way. He finds more success in vocalizing the feelings of love, loss, and pain that he already had a handle on, though this time the thoughts are more well-formed. He has leaned into his casual, unorthodox style that draws people to his work, and his ability to bend the english language in an understandable and fluid way is what gives his voice volume.

[Christina]

I was recently gifted this book and really enjoyed New Hairs, Untitled, The Driver, Distant, My Greatest Fear, and a few more. Many of the poems have good imagery, a pleasing poetic style, and emotions that I can resonate with.

However, those poems that I like are mixed with those that don't quite make sense to keep in the book--for example, "This is a poem about the moon last night." Another example might be "A poem about toxic masculinity," which I think was distasteful even though I knew what the author was getting at.

The small grammar mistakes were inconsistent enough that I couldn't tell which were a stylistic choice and which were typos. The weird spacing of letters in the titles, random lowercase i's, haver instead of have, woul'dt instead of wouldn't.

They were distracting, and instead of giving my attention to the poems, I was trying to figure out what was done on purpose and whether it affected the poem's meaning or how it should be read.

This wasn't my favorite book of poetry. This collection feels like a mismatch of strong, polished pieces and quick, undeveloped ideas.

However, I do feel the author has room to grow and continue honing his voice, style, and intention. I look forward to seeing what he writes in the future.

[Elliana Jenness]

Man, the way Trev writes just makes me feel like I’m his best friend and he’s letting me read his unfiltered weird journal thoughts. And I love it. I adore his gentle simplistic and meditative approach to writing. This second book of his just reminds me to not take poetry too seriously sometimes and just sit and think. Loved every page, will revisit my favorites often.

[Emily Harrington]

"I wish I could dog ear the days of my life. And all the things you said to me would be tucked away behind some crease..."

I am in love with Trev's poetry. This is a book of poems you can read all in one sitting, but also one you can (and will) pick up again and again. I bought two copies of both his books *(The other is Orangutan Teeth), one for me to keep and one to loan out to others.

[Raven Siker]

There are so many details in the personality of this book that I loved. The run on thoughts. The hard stops. The way that page to page, I wasn’t sure whether to expect humor or sentiment or observation. Sometimes all three. I devoured the words and dog-eared half the pages. Immediately starting it over when finished.

[Richard Ashley]

Loved every page

Every page was so good. I found Trev on social media. I love his tone and the way he writes. It's deep but on a whole level apart from so other authors. I wish he would write more books as I am a big fan. He inspired me so much that started writing a little bit as well.

[Dave Manningsmith]

Trev is worth the read.

If you can, and you can, listen to Trev read his poems, so you can read them in his voice. His voice pauses more than yours, and in different places. Savor his words, and think about the space between. His choices remind me of cummings, but his heart is more sleevey.
Pay for this book in hopes he can afford to write more.

[Jessika]

Silly, human, touching, whimsical, typos and commentaries. Beautiful and not full of itself. Something to devour on a sunny afternoon as you play with your hair and let crumbs of cookies fall everywhere on you. Trev's writing brings me joy. Beautifully imperfect.

[Maggie Urban]

I found a few typos but there a a few poems in here that I really treasure. It’s like food, it doesn’t matter what it looks like because it still tastes the same. Excited to read more of Trev’s work.

[Janet Brown]

Somewhat Small but Not Small!

I really enjoyed this book of poems. Thank you for writing something sweet, thoughtful, funny, and most interesting. I will return to this book again and spend some time with your thoughts. I found your book delightful.

[Barbara Lennox]

Charming, succinct prose poems exploring some universal themes, with some very idiosyncratic punctuation! I love the author's description of the poems as pennies on a sidewalk, to be picked up or ignored.

[Emilee]

I laughed out loud several times while reading this. I’ve become intimate with Trev’s poetry on TikTok and loved to have been able to read this with his voice in my head saying the words.

[Jessica]

Perfect.

[Brooklynn CourtneyA]

Trev has such a beautiful way with words, you don’t see much like it these days. It was very refreshing as I devoured this some what small book. <3

[Megan Kent]

Stunning takes. Heart wrenching words. A common truth that feeds my soul.

[laura guld]

dude endnu bedre end den sidste, growth er tydeligt