Magnesium

by Ray Buckley

In an honest unraveling of personal perspective, this collection of poems isn't preoccupied with a singular aim or objective. The tempo set forth by Buckley's style suggests poignantly that we may want to listen, rather than impose, thus inviting us to glean more clearly those things which defy explanation.

Magnesium strolls tenderly along emotional disaster, lending a careful ear to it and making it habitable. Piecing together fragmented thoughts surrounding a displaced romance, the reader experiences with the author the pain of communing in disharmony and how the confusion of loss and finality can linger in an agonizing way.

Deploying a soft touch amongst the harshness of what is normative, Buckley comes into contact with modern concerns and struggles with how to live amicably among them. It yields to suspicion, rewrites assumption, and has a confrontation with collective agreement. Readers will become enmeshed in its overarching sincerity in the face of a world that keeps mostly to the party line.

Genres: Poetry

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2017

About the author

Ray Buckley is an American author, actor, and cinematographer from Portland, OR.

Reviews

[Nat K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it. Then I read it again.

I cannot pretend to know poetry well, but these words spoke to me. This is one that I'll definitely dive into over and over.

It was honest & raw, and the emotions leapt off the page. Sigh.

Later...

I've decided to revise my review, and have upped this to five stars. I've dived back into snippets of this book too many times over the weekend not to.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading this book of poems on a cold, rainy day in January. Reading poetry while curled up in front of the fire seems like a calm and cozy way to spend an afternoon, but Magnesium is not a calm and cozy book. I imagine Ray Buckley scrawling these poems out on crumpled paper napkins at three in the morning after drinking too many cups of coffee and swallowing too many pills.

Some of my favorite lines:

"I work very hard to be considered significant. / I have intentions of having a very elevating photograph taken of me"

"A terrible wilderness of lives is where we made contact." And, from the same poem (my favorite, called "A Branchlet of Star Magnolia): "It's because of you I have any regard for the forest."

Then there's this one, which does an excellent job of encapsulating the entire collection:

"He wrote a book. / And bled into it a thousand regrets."

[Julienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will echo another reviewer by saying this: "an honest American love story presented in stunning fragments". Really lovely work of humanity, hope and willingness to be with confusion and longing.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection deals with themes of commercialism, self-doubt, the failure of a love affair, deity and the meaninglessness of modernity. These themes don't interest me all that much, but there were still quite a few poems I really enjoyed. Buckley tends to use complex words, which I found to be disorienting, but not over the top.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a lot of bad poetry in the world - I should know, I'm actively contributing to that tally - but having read this I have a good feeling that most of it is trapped between the covers of this 'book'.

[Silvia Ardor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very captivating read. Ray's poetry and prose is tragically beautiful and thought-provoking. I loved the layout of the book, especially the pieces of dialogue in between. Ray is an incredible writer, extremely talented, and I look forward to reading his next book!!

[Silvia Geboiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! Ray is an incredibly talented writer. I want to read more!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a distinctive poetic voice with some good lines and rhythm. Interesting approach and effect. Worth checking out.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars. A full review is on my channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3AP-...

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

Contemporary poetry is hit and miss – I either love it or hate it, and I particularly hate it when it’s unoriginal. Luckily, Magnesium feels both original and contemporary, with some excellent wordplay and plenty of little lines that linger and make you start to think more than you thought about things before. I didn’t love all of it, but I loved a lot of it – and I’d definitely read more.