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Love Letters to the World
120 lyrical prose poems addressing the world as body, concept, stranger. This is a quiet celebration and exploration of life, love, language, and one's place in the world.
- GenresPoetryNonfiction
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2016
6 people are currently reading
936 people want to read
About the author
Meia Geddes
2 books33 followersMeia Geddes is a writer, librarian, artist, and bookseller. She was born in Hefei, China, adopted and raised by her mother in Sacramento, California, and is now based in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the author of a collection of lyrical missives addressed to the world as body, concept, and stranger, Love Letters to the World (2016), and a novella, The Little Queen (2017). Geddes received her bachelor's degree from Brown University and master's degree in library and information science from Simmons University, and has been the recipient of a Fulbright grant to South Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 20, 2020
This is a book of prose and letters that reads like a diary in it's intimacy.
It is love letters, wonderings and soft jabs to one's soul and mind, jabs meant to awaken it.
The author did a great job of bending metaphors onto galaxies.
i found myself hacking away at the paperback to highlight beautiful quotes like these:
And frankly quirky ones like these:
but the book in itself was so much more, technically it barely took me 2 hours to finish it, but i spent the whole morning cuddled with it on my bed, every couple of letters i found myself lost in thought, in contemplation of her words or simply in search for answers because it was pack filled with questions, they were all over the place and even tucked in between lines; in short it made me think and feel andsometimes most times that is all you can ask of a book.
♥
It is love letters, wonderings and soft jabs to one's soul and mind, jabs meant to awaken it.
The author did a great job of bending metaphors onto galaxies.
i found myself hacking away at the paperback to highlight beautiful quotes like these:
i am almost asking, waiting, for my wings to drop away. i would be free then i would reside less inside the mind
...and maybe you frequent empty rooms to familiarize yourself with the meaning of space as in a blank page
And frankly quirky ones like these:
the space between the top of the head and the beginnings of hat is among the most intimate of areas:
earlobe behinds, elbow insides, and anuses.
but the book in itself was so much more, technically it barely took me 2 hours to finish it, but i spent the whole morning cuddled with it on my bed, every couple of letters i found myself lost in thought, in contemplation of her words or simply in search for answers because it was pack filled with questions, they were all over the place and even tucked in between lines; in short it made me think and feel and
...there is nothing that can be fully said__the reason for gestures and eyes and art.
♥
July 1, 2022
A student gifted me this book as a book that inspired her, and I can see why! It’s written in all epistolary form, each letter a love letter to the world. Each one is connected by a word or strand or theme from the last one. They are thought-provoking, euphonic, and shift through her Geddes’ own life experiences. I definitely want to use some to help teach MOTWAAW and binary opposition because she writes each one with an extended metaphor, shift, or tension. I highly recommend! It felt fitting that I started it at the beach, listening to the waves in the background, and finished it on my front porch with a cup of coffee and listening to the birds. It’s a beautiful gift that I will cherish and reference, both personally and professionally!
“I have realized that leaving things and people behind would work out in ways one wouldn’t realize, when one acts aligned with what one feels is right even when it all seems too wrong.”
“You will never like all the people you once were, I tell myself. But I hope I am getting to be more attuned to feeling, to those alive beside me.”
“I have realized that leaving things and people behind would work out in ways one wouldn’t realize, when one acts aligned with what one feels is right even when it all seems too wrong.”
“You will never like all the people you once were, I tell myself. But I hope I am getting to be more attuned to feeling, to those alive beside me.”
October 8, 2020
Love Letters to the World by Meia Geddes is the poet’s first published collection of poetry. Geddes was born in China, raised in Sacramento, and lives in Boston. She graduated from Brown University and has been the recipient of a Fulbright grant, and is currently completing her master's in library and information science, folding paper cranes for her small business Make-A-Crane, and working as an assistant at MIT Sloan School of Management. Her novella, The Little Queen, is forthcoming in 2017.
Love Letters to the World is exactly what the title proclaims. Geddes writes a series of poetic one paragraph letters to the world. At first read, the poems are innocent and almost druidical with descriptions of rain, fields and nature in general. There is no mention of so-called civilization-- buildings, cities, or highways. People are seldom mentioned and the dreariness of a day to day job is absent. Although written in prose format the writing takes on a feel of pastoral or romantic poetry. There is a relationship that develops between the poet and the reader. The reader, especially the middle-aged reader, will be taken back to simpler times and draw back on their younger days.
Reading a bit deeper the reader will identify a different relationship. There is a more personal relationship between the poet and the "world." There is a place for the world -- nature and elements. Then there is a place for what becomes the poet's world in another person. “Sometimes I simply want to touch you. I want to run my fingers along the edges of your clouds, the tips of your fields, the impossible corners of you.” A person can become one's world. The poet seems to wander back and forth between the two worlds.
There is another relationship in the writing. It is between the poet and words. “Words bring to paper a shape of love.” and “One cannot fill the pages of life as with a lined notebook.” Some things can only be expressed by words. The use of words and the connotation rather than denotation play a major role in the writing. Time becomes one of those words that strives for meaning.
Love Letters to the World starts with a simple premise. One might see it as simplistic, but it is like a snowflake. It is ordinary until you look at the detail and see the crystalline formation. Geddes tells the reader to look, look deeper, really look deep and it is then the reader sees the real multifaceted beauty. Very nicely done.
Love Letters to the World is exactly what the title proclaims. Geddes writes a series of poetic one paragraph letters to the world. At first read, the poems are innocent and almost druidical with descriptions of rain, fields and nature in general. There is no mention of so-called civilization-- buildings, cities, or highways. People are seldom mentioned and the dreariness of a day to day job is absent. Although written in prose format the writing takes on a feel of pastoral or romantic poetry. There is a relationship that develops between the poet and the reader. The reader, especially the middle-aged reader, will be taken back to simpler times and draw back on their younger days.
Reading a bit deeper the reader will identify a different relationship. There is a more personal relationship between the poet and the "world." There is a place for the world -- nature and elements. Then there is a place for what becomes the poet's world in another person. “Sometimes I simply want to touch you. I want to run my fingers along the edges of your clouds, the tips of your fields, the impossible corners of you.” A person can become one's world. The poet seems to wander back and forth between the two worlds.
There is another relationship in the writing. It is between the poet and words. “Words bring to paper a shape of love.” and “One cannot fill the pages of life as with a lined notebook.” Some things can only be expressed by words. The use of words and the connotation rather than denotation play a major role in the writing. Time becomes one of those words that strives for meaning.
Love Letters to the World starts with a simple premise. One might see it as simplistic, but it is like a snowflake. It is ordinary until you look at the detail and see the crystalline formation. Geddes tells the reader to look, look deeper, really look deep and it is then the reader sees the real multifaceted beauty. Very nicely done.
March 8, 2019
What I Liked
I loved that this collection of poetry was so meditative! Geddes definitely knows how to lull a reader into a mental state that is calm enough to contemplate her poetry, but not so calm that one falls asleep. Geddes then uses that beautiful state of mental bliss to encourage her audience to try to truly understand the physical and spiritual implications of her poetry. I loved this because there was a surface level, then a bottom of the iceberg, then a bottom of the ocean to each of her poems. I absolutely had to be in the mental state that Geddes put me in to be able to understand each of these three parts. And, let me tell you, she never failed to put me into that mental state.
I also loved the way that each of the letters was written! Each poem was so natural sounding that the words rolled off of the tongue without any of the forced strangeness that results from the work of other modern day poets.
What I Disliked
Although the poetry was very beautiful, I wish that there would have been a plot. I would have liked to know what was going on to inspire Geddes to write each of the poems. It's not as though she sat down and looked at a calendar and decided to write about a subject based on the day. Why does it matter that a little girl hugs her? Why is she writing about pregnant bellies all of a sudden? I believe that Geddes should have allowed her audience to get to know her through her poetry.
I also disliked the repetitive nature of the letters. Yes, these are all letters. Yes, that's important to your book. No, you do not have to use the same greeting and salutation for each letter. After a while, that begins to detract from the book.
Final Thoughts
This may be a book that requires some knowledge of the discussed pieces. For example, the parts involving pregnancy did not affect me as much as they would have if I were a mother. I would like to go back and see how these poems change their meaning for me as I change and grow.
If this book was a tea, it would be jasmine. It is calming, but filled with complex undertones.
I loved that this collection of poetry was so meditative! Geddes definitely knows how to lull a reader into a mental state that is calm enough to contemplate her poetry, but not so calm that one falls asleep. Geddes then uses that beautiful state of mental bliss to encourage her audience to try to truly understand the physical and spiritual implications of her poetry. I loved this because there was a surface level, then a bottom of the iceberg, then a bottom of the ocean to each of her poems. I absolutely had to be in the mental state that Geddes put me in to be able to understand each of these three parts. And, let me tell you, she never failed to put me into that mental state.
I also loved the way that each of the letters was written! Each poem was so natural sounding that the words rolled off of the tongue without any of the forced strangeness that results from the work of other modern day poets.
What I Disliked
Although the poetry was very beautiful, I wish that there would have been a plot. I would have liked to know what was going on to inspire Geddes to write each of the poems. It's not as though she sat down and looked at a calendar and decided to write about a subject based on the day. Why does it matter that a little girl hugs her? Why is she writing about pregnant bellies all of a sudden? I believe that Geddes should have allowed her audience to get to know her through her poetry.
I also disliked the repetitive nature of the letters. Yes, these are all letters. Yes, that's important to your book. No, you do not have to use the same greeting and salutation for each letter. After a while, that begins to detract from the book.
Final Thoughts
This may be a book that requires some knowledge of the discussed pieces. For example, the parts involving pregnancy did not affect me as much as they would have if I were a mother. I would like to go back and see how these poems change their meaning for me as I change and grow.
If this book was a tea, it would be jasmine. It is calming, but filled with complex undertones.
November 18, 2016
Such endearing words
Ms. Geddes' words are full of such expression, such emotion, it is easy to be lulled into the observations of the entirety of this Author's world. Very different type of poetry. Refreshing.
Ms. Geddes' words are full of such expression, such emotion, it is easy to be lulled into the observations of the entirety of this Author's world. Very different type of poetry. Refreshing.
July 3, 2017
I read this work thoroughly, the first time when it was published, and more recently, a week ago. I made extensive comments on each page of the text. In a spark, what comes to mind is: "awakening" "feeling deep emotions" and "connected" . . . I am a photographer and a poet. I think in sketches, breaths, deep shadows, images. I will say that Meia's words make me write: "I cradle you with my embrace." "Divine Kiss" The intimacy of a lover to her/his beloved." I strive for openness in relation. I teach my students to be emotionally available in order to succeed intellectually, academically. First you have to listen to the pulse of the earth. You have to be ready to risk feelings, pain, sadness, be vulnerable, be ready to feel the drama as well as the joy of living. Meia speaks to me in her book, exactly what I would like to say to the world. Innocence is being open to danger yet to be innocent and open is to let the wisdom of Nature into your heart. And in your heart you learn, you hear the signal, gain direction on what the next step is. Meia opens her heart to you and to me and just engages my spirit, my deep sense of things that are normally deeply buried. Meia speaks to the child in all of us. We don't need a big, sophisticated vocabulary to understand her feelings and thoughts. A child in all of us, from a 1o year old girl to a 90 year old grandparant; we all immediately understand what she is saying and where she has been and where she is going because Meia "thinks" from her heart and we all have the same kind of heart. Even if you are angry at the world, closed up and cynical; even if you are a rock-solid clod of earth, reading Meia's prose loosens you up as if a warm jug of water is flowing over this clod of sad earth. I become fertile, malleable earth, ready for planting, ready to nourish the plants of life which sustain our bodies and minds. What more is there to say? I say one more thing: I await Meia's next book with delightful anticipation.
December 26, 2024
“I would only like to become aware of myself - even though you can stroke a word so much or know a thing so well.” Page 117
February 14, 2018
This book is exactly what I needed. It's inspirational, it's beautifully written and it moved me in ways I didn't expect.
It consists in letters addressed to the world where the author opens up her mind and lets her feelings flow. And it's not just careless letters. They are filled with sincerity and well, love. I really felt this book was written with a lot of care and I really appreciate that.
This book is worth every minute I spent reading it.
It consists in letters addressed to the world where the author opens up her mind and lets her feelings flow. And it's not just careless letters. They are filled with sincerity and well, love. I really felt this book was written with a lot of care and I really appreciate that.
This book is worth every minute I spent reading it.
September 16, 2016
Love Letters to the World
by Meia Geddes
Poetose Press
New Adult, Poetry
Pub Date 01 Oct 2016
I was given a copy of Love Letters to to the World through the publisher and their partnership with Netgalley in exchange for my honest review which is as follows:
Love Letters to the World is a collection of prose, little letters to the World singing of its praise.
Love Letters to the World shows of the unfolding beauty of the seasons and notices the little beauties in the lives.
The Poems or letters in this book not only show the authors awakening awareness of the world around her but of her discovering who she is as well.
I give Love Letters to the World five out of five stars
Happy Reading
by Meia Geddes
Poetose Press
New Adult, Poetry
Pub Date 01 Oct 2016
I was given a copy of Love Letters to to the World through the publisher and their partnership with Netgalley in exchange for my honest review which is as follows:
Love Letters to the World is a collection of prose, little letters to the World singing of its praise.
Love Letters to the World shows of the unfolding beauty of the seasons and notices the little beauties in the lives.
The Poems or letters in this book not only show the authors awakening awareness of the world around her but of her discovering who she is as well.
I give Love Letters to the World five out of five stars
Happy Reading
February 2, 2017
I received this eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion of the work.
“I am wary of circles for I like things that resist perfection and separation, like curving lines and smudged ink.”This book is a pocketful of pretty prose but it took me too long to get into. Meia's thoughts are beautiful (and so are her sentences) but sometimes it was just too much. I'd still recommend this book to fans of lyrical prose and purple prose. Love Letters to the World is just not my cup of tea, unfortunately.
September 16, 2016
Note: I received a Kindle ARC of this book from Netgalley. This review is honest and unbiased.
Love Letters to the World is a collection of prose poems in the form of letters addressed to “My dear world”. At times I got the distinct feeling that the world was a specific person being addressed, such as a lover or a friend. At others, ...more
Love Letters to the World is a collection of prose poems in the form of letters addressed to “My dear world”. At times I got the distinct feeling that the world was a specific person being addressed, such as a lover or a friend. At others, ...more
October 16, 2016
With a great deal of love and lyricism, Meia Geddes has captured many seemingly small, tranquil and beautiful moments. And yet, it is not just her impressions of nature, and the world we share that prove so moving. It is equally her eloquence in exploring love, self identity and how to best make a place for yourself in our world that ultimately proves captivating. Ms Geddes possesses a clear and original new voice.
July 27, 2017
I wanted to love this and the premise sounded amazing. But the form of the poems was too repetitive, even if I love epistolary work AND prose poems. The whole thing just didn't gel for me, and it could have used heavy editing. But this is the author's first work, so I don't doubt that improvement will be there when she releases her next collection.
I received a free copy of this collection from NetGalley, and opinions are my own.
I received a free copy of this collection from NetGalley, and opinions are my own.
October 12, 2016
I found this to be a charming collection of vignettes. Each expresses a quiet delight and deep appreciation of the world. One cannot help but be warmed and refreshed by the quiet beauty of these pieces, their gracious voice, and the poetry of the world seen through the author's eyes. I highly recommend this book.
August 29, 2016
My overall opinion is, very simple poetry and themes trying to be too pretentious. There were certainly some poems I appreciated but the book itself just came across as boring and not really my style of poetry.
Thanks to Netgalley and Poetose Press for providing me an arc of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Poetose Press for providing me an arc of this book.
September 17, 2016
This is a simple collection of meditative letters addressed to the world. While an interesting idea and some lovely phrases and tangents, it was a bit tiring by the end. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.
February 10, 2017
This was a beautiful read that I'm still sitting with; review to come.
October 26, 2016
Beautiful, lyrical, moving, and sensitive.
A really nice job!
A really nice job!
April 14, 2017
This is a collection of lovely letters that speaks from the heart to the world. Inner reflections are shared that bring about an awareness on each topic presented.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews