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&
Just as with the symbol itself, the poems in & are the moments in between. These are poems of choice, both refusing to choose and having our choices made for us-- the moments where everything hangs in the balance and we must decide who we are and what that means.
36 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 26, 2018
Amy Kinsman’s “&” places the reader on the cusp of a series of events or predicaments, many of them painfully intimate and raw, but stops short of coming to conclusions, cleverly allowing the reader ‘fill in the blanks’ with their own experience or their own resolutions to the dilemmas. The dexterity of the writing not only gives Amy a clear, strong and unique voice, but in posing these questions that – tantalisingly – may or may not need answering, they allow the reader to become intimately involved in the poems.
There is a playfulness here, too. A deliberate bending of expectation; occasionally a coquettish charm and a willingness to experiment (both form and content) that makes “&” so bold, so vibrant and so challenging.
Of particular note for me are the heartbreaking “necessity”, the desolate self-awareness of “the moth, the moon, and the bathroom light” and the gloriously fragmented “lovers with lysergic acid diethylamide.
Never less than enthralling, “&” is unashamedly romantic, mercurial, pragmatic and wise. It speaks of complex human experience – all of its sadnesses and joys; its dark places and ecstatic vistas – with an eloquence that is extraordinarily moving, often at subatomic and tectonic levels.
It’s incredibly rare that poetry demands such intense engagement, even rarer that it does that so effortlessly.
“&” is breathtaking, cutting edge poetry at its finest.
There is a playfulness here, too. A deliberate bending of expectation; occasionally a coquettish charm and a willingness to experiment (both form and content) that makes “&” so bold, so vibrant and so challenging.
Of particular note for me are the heartbreaking “necessity”, the desolate self-awareness of “the moth, the moon, and the bathroom light” and the gloriously fragmented “lovers with lysergic acid diethylamide.
Never less than enthralling, “&” is unashamedly romantic, mercurial, pragmatic and wise. It speaks of complex human experience – all of its sadnesses and joys; its dark places and ecstatic vistas – with an eloquence that is extraordinarily moving, often at subatomic and tectonic levels.
It’s incredibly rare that poetry demands such intense engagement, even rarer that it does that so effortlessly.
“&” is breathtaking, cutting edge poetry at its finest.
May 24, 2020
Nuanced and moving, writing in a lyrical but accessible style which doesn't lose its substance. The later few poems are less my style, with beautiful moments that don't ring as true as wholes - except for the deliciously lovely 'Dissappearance of the poet.' I feel though like I haven't put enough work into valuing these poems, the overall impression was muted somewhat by my rushing through it, always dangerous with such brief work.
P.s I won a copy of this pamphlet from a giveaway on twitter, this is an honest review.
P.s I won a copy of this pamphlet from a giveaway on twitter, this is an honest review.
April 23, 2018
Moving and thought provoking. I was lost in this from beginning to end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews