The Holy & Broken Bliss

by Alicia Ostriker

Genres: Poetry

100 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2024

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The words of an old woman shuffling the cards of her own decline the decline
of her husband the decline of her nation her plague-smitten world”

Out of pandemic isolation come new rituals: watching days and seasons pass, fighting for her own health but mostly her husband’s, and lamenting public displays of hate. Lines feel stark with honesty; some poems are just haiku length. Elsewhere, repetition and alliteration create a wistful tone. Jewish scripture and mysticism are the source of much of the language and outlook. Music and nature, too, promise the transcendent. Simple and remarkable. Here’s a stanza about late autumn:

It is almost winter and still
as I walk to the clinic the gingkos
sing their seraphic air
as if there is no tomorrow

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Mya Matteo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard no. There are moments of introspection and observation here that I enjoy but as a whole this text often possesses well-meaning but still careless white-savior / microaggressive tendencies. examples: the poem "Tachycardia", where she compares her heart issues to chattel slavery, "Elul", and similar poems where she attempts to write about racial violence. Feels very careless / unintentionally disrespectful.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this new poetry book at the library and will definitely be looking for her other books. I thought there was beauty in her writing and enjoyed reading her poems.

[Amorak Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The love poems in this book are amazing.

[Leilaniiii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially, it kinda revolves around her looming death and time.