Woman Reading to the Sea: Poems

by Lisa Williams

A new volume from the winner of the 2007 Barnard Women Poets Prize. "Poems of arresting intelligence, precision, and beauty. In wonderfully crafted language, with the startling subtlety of certain of Emily Dickinson's poems, Lisa Williams takes us into eerily imagined worlds―the interior of a jellyfish, and the interior of a glacier; she beguiles us with the most seductive of poetic possibilities....This slender volume constitutes a journey of sorts, a pilgrimage 'out' that returns the questing poet, imagined as a companion 'you,' to her own life."―Joyce Carol Oates, prize citation

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2008

Reviews

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stole this book from my mother in law's shelf when we cleaned out her house for the last time. Overall, I didn't connect with much. The style is a bit too Transcendental for my taste. But there were some great lines, a few poems I enjoyed, and one poem, "Laurel," that lit me on fire. The third star is for that poem alone.

[dewey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

The poems about churches were my favorites in this book. They were very evocative and intriguing, and made this book worthwhile in my opinion. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the other poems in this book simply went over my head.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The language of these poems is a delight. I would like to have seen more connection between the subject and the speaker of the poems, or more imaginative leaps that help evolve the book's arc from beginning to end.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the evocative poems about nature, birds, tides the sea, etc. I wasn't touched by the whole book, but half is pretty good for a poetry book. Some of the literary homage to other poets left me cold. Not "poetry educated" enough I guess, to understand the allusions.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some beautiful poems in this collection, but I'm left kinda feeling 'eh' overall. Maybe I wasn't quite in the right frame of mind or mood, and there were some lovely images...