No Matter

by Jana Prikryl

An urgent, visionary collection of poems from the author of The After Party

Jana Prikryl's No Matter argues for the necessity of vision in a time of darkness. Set in cities toppling past the point of decline-and-fall--Rome, London, Dublin, and most of all New York--these poems capture the experience of being human in the late days of empire, when the laws protecting weak from strong are being torn away. Ranging from free verse through sonnets and invented forms, Prikryl's poems insist that every demolition also builds something new and unforeseen.

In poems whose one-word titles give the book a percussive rhythm, Prikryl gives voice to the shifting anxieties and fortitude of the powerless. An ancient Sibyl is the presiding spirit, tired of being the conscience of a people addicted to ancient codes of domination. Dido gets the last word on the male lust for conquest. The American tradition of self-reliance shrivels into the narcissism of the survivalist. Scraps of Moby-Dick, Coriolanus, Virginia Woolf, and Heraclitus drift through the poems like ghosts. New York City is taken hostage by the super-rich, and a scramble for resources infects each relationship. Yet the city's glamour and importance can't be denied: there are love poems for friends, for David Bowie, for all kinds of new arrivals who make every city worth saving. In reactionary times, these poems say, we all have a responsibility to use our imagination.

No Matter is an elegy for our ongoing moment, when what seemed permanent suddenly appears to be on the brink of collapse.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2019

About the author

Jana Prikryl is the author of No Matter and The After Party, which was one of The New York Times‘s Best Poetry Books of the Year. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The London Review of Books, The Paris Review, and The New York Review of Books, where she is a senior editor and the poetry editor.

Reviews

[Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best collections of poetry I've ever read. They are by no means easy or accessible poems to read, but they reward so much on the re-reading. Digging into this particular collection forced me to read poetry in a whole new, almost meditative way. I could sit for a few minutes just thinking about a single stanza of one of Prikryl's poems. I re-read the first 30 pages or so of this collection more times than I can count, each time revealing something new and exciting. I also have a fond memory associated with this book because I picked it up in Brooklyn, NY and the author very clearly lives and writes about NY, so it felt especially timely and fated. Nonetheless, I see myself returning to these poems again and again. I appreciated how she had continuity throughout with many poems bearing the same title; you could definitely spend lots of time reading only the poems titled "Waves" or "Anonymous" or "Sibyl" and the collection would take on a totally new vibe. Prikryl is a poet I will be paying attention to moving forward, and I'm eager to go and read her first collection now.

[Gerardine Betancourt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry but not for me. The poetry was a little abstract and difficult to understand.

[Amy Bruestle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review

I love poetry. The poetry in this collection is pretty good. However, it just didn’t pull at my heartstrings very much. Maybe it is because I have recently read another poetry collection (When You Ask Me Where I’m Going) that I couldn’t put down. It was incredible. Maybe I am comparing the two in ways that I shouldn’t. I am trying not to be biased in any way. Don’t get me wrong, this collection is definitely good...just not as moving to me personally. But with that being said, I also enjoy specific types of poetry to begin with. I feel like poems are hard to review because there are so many different ways to write a poem, so many different styles. So few rules.

[Peycho Kanev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Epic

Your friends of friends in the city
seduce each other in the strong light
of their ambition by reading long
chapters of long books to each other

not seeing, in bed with this poem
that two chapters want repetition
as though by the guy who made Rome:

You go Book I, II, III then II, III, IV
because the second night of his visit
Dido begged a redo and he did it

although if he glimpsed a new facet or
felt shattered to relive it, or bored—
her reaction tells us he said it
just as he’d said it the night before.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading No Matter by Jana Prikryl not knowing at all what to expect. What I did not want was more poetry of heartbreak. I wanted poetry that worked with language not only to connect with the reader, but also to absolutely confuse them. Jana Prikryl does just this, and I cannot be more grateful for such a master of language.

I had picked this book of poetry from a selection of titles on NetGalley because of its description on the website: “Set in cities toppling past the point of decline-and-fall--Rome, London, Dublin, and most of all New York--these poems capture the experience of being human in the late days of empire, when the laws protecting weak from strong are being torn away.” As a classicist studying ancient Roman literature and myth, this seemed right up my alley.

It is true that most of these poems are set in New York - and I probably would understand them better if I knew more about New York culture and geography - but many of the poems are set against language that evokes ancient myth and history. The physical descriptions of the city also use language that hints at archaism, especially the use of “brownstone” to describe the bridges and buildings.

The theme of most of Prikryl’s poems reminds me of The Aeneid, my particular area of study - ergo my interpretation of these poems focuses mostly on that. Prikryl compares New York to Troy in her poem “Ambitious”, telling how heroes pass through and make the city his own and that of his own people (an allusion to Aeneas’ journey from Troy to Italy). Prikryl also features well-known characters from this epic. The character that shows up in the titles of many of the poems is the Sibyl, an oracle who helped Aeneas on his journey into the Underworld. Here she is presiding over what seems to be the change of cities and the people described in these poems. In the second-to-last poem, also called “Sibyl”, there is imagery that alludes to things, especially plants, that grow in the Underworld. Dido is another character from the Aeneid who is featured in this book, exactly twice. With her we see what could’ve happened between Aeneas and Dido if he had to redo his actions. The fact that Prikryl uses the Sibyl more than Dido as a featured voice is really interesting; it is possible that if Dido were the main voice there would be more reference to love rather than the change the Sibyl represents as the liminal figure between the Underworld and the world of the living. A symbol of change.

The way Prikryl uses language in these poems, besides the language that reference The Aeneid, is astounding. The manner in which she constructs her verses really draws the eye to what’s important. The way I feel reading it is how I imagine my own thoughts would look if they were written down on paper.

My biggest issue was understanding a lot of the poems, though I would say that is the way it is with most poetry. It is personal, and not every poem is meant for everyone (and, as I said before, I am sure New Yorkers would have a much easier time understanding). However, even if we don’t understand, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Prikryl’s verse a chance, even if just to enjoy the clever mastery of language and ancient allusions.

[Emily Blachly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not an avid poetry reader, so this was just too abstract for me and I struggled to find meaning in the poems. I struggled with reviewing this book because poetry speaks to different people in different ways. Ultimately, though, it wasn't my cup of tea.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not accessible or meaningful to a casual reader of poetry. And not exciting or challenging enough to want to know more.

My thanks to First to Read for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, but I agree with some of the other reviews that this did not resonate as much with me. Perhaps if you are from NYC many of these poems would sing true

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality of Writing: 9/10
Pace: 10/10
Plot Development: N/A
Characters: N/A
Enjoyability: 10/10
Insightfulness: 5/10
Ease of Reading: 3/10
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my first review for NetGalley.
Poetry is an art form that many people don't understand. Here's my opinion: poetry is a celebration of language, and does not need to be understood in order to be appreciated. Only about one eighth of the poems were dissectible into clear meanings, but they were still beautifully written. There were some that I loved in particular, that called out to my inner poet.
Altogether, a wonderful collection, but not for someone just getting into poetry.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoy poetry in its many creative forms of expression. Some is easily read, some takes some work to understand, and some just give me a headache! Unfortunately, for me, this collection falls in the last category I mentioned.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of this collection in exchange for an unbiased review. Opinions stated here are my own.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. I could appreciate some of Prikryl's clever language and there were a few poems that seemed to have some life to them, but overall I just found these boring and generally "trying too hard."

*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Now begins to rise in me the familiar rhythm; words that have lain dormant now lift, now toss their crests, and fall and rise, and falls again. I am a poet, yes. Surely I am a great poet.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves


No Matter by Jana Prikryl is the poet's second full-length collection of poetry. Prikryl earned her BA from the University of Toronto and her MA from New York University. Her poetry and criticism have been published in a variety of publications and journals. Currently, she is a senior editor at the New York Review of Books.

Prikryl combines the new and the old. Rich history meets with contemporary reason and artifacts. Sibyl claims she is no messenger but speaks cryptically in the poems.  Historically, how much different would things have been for Dido if she could have followed Aeneas' social media accounts when he left for Sicily.

Aeneas left by sea, and throughout the collection, the sea or the effects of the sea display themselves in many forms. The poems mention green oxygen, patina, Ishmel, and verdigris as visual indicators. The feeling of the sea is present in the repetition of the poem titles; reinforced by the poems titled "Waves." Repetition also exists in the repeating of phrases and clever wording that creates soft redundancy.

There is almost a Woolfish feeling to the poetry that goes beyond waves and whitecaps. There is the tide and the in and out movements that create the cyclic image of waves. Cities alluded to by landmarks rather than names are all places with rivers and tides. In the flow and rhythm of No Matter, the poet leaves small obstacles that challenge one's smooth sailing. Uncommon words represent hazards on a nautical chart that need addressing before passing, an unexpected break in the flow.

No Matter presents an enjoyable poetry experience that tends to a more traditional form and feeling — the words and repetition play on the reader's mind. No Matter may have a connection to the poetry beyond its more common connotation of unimportant. It may mean the absence of matter -- nothingness:

“I see nothing. We may sink and settle on the waves. The sea will drum in my ears. The white petals will be darkened with sea water. They will float for a moment and then sink. Rolling over the waves will shoulder me under. Everything falls in a tremendous shower, dissolving me.”
Virginia Woolf, The Waves.

Unfortunately, not available until July 23, 2019

[Paul Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS SO unlike The After Party that I would not have guessed it was by the same writer. It’s not better, not worse, but definitely different.

The After Party was cosmopolitan, with poems set in many different places; apart from a couple or so poems set in Dublin, No Matter sticks closely to New York City. The After Party ranged widely through history, but the poems in No Matter more often describe someone or something the poet seemed to have seen that day.

The After Party foregrounded erudition and technique, poems about reading Barthes, ekphrastic poems, an ambitious long closing poem. There is a lot of craft in No Matter What, if you look closely, but on first impression the poems often have the quick-take immediacy of O’Hara’s Lunch Poems.

Nor is there anything in The After Party quite like the tart elegy for Robert Silvers, “Bob”:

Listen, he would start

when driven once again

to issue a rebuke,

listen, I’d stiffen,

listen—

First book though it was, The After Party seemed so much the end of a long line of development, so matured a voice, that I was thinking of it as one of those debut volumes in which a poet seems to have already achieved their distinctive style, like Stevens’s Harmonium or Moore’s Observations. But she had another voice up her sleeve the whole time. What next?

[Caroline]

It should be illegal to rate books of poems -- living writers get 5 stars, and flowers for their efforts. But I rank my laziness as a reader in this order:

1. Essays
2. Novels
3. Poetry

I come here to have it go over my head, then puzzle the incomprehensible out over screenshots with friends. I'm glad there are still new books of poems to be written about living in New York City. It's thrilling to not know, exactly, what something means:

Sibyl

I have a case

If you know the code
you can try it up to three times
thrice her shadow fades in my embrace
and then it’s locked, good luck

I think there’s an Apple on Sixth
you can map it on my phone
if you have a way to verify your picture ID
is yours, you’re fine

They accept three forms of resemblance
one) bottle of imported wine
two) pair of authentic Levi’s (right size)
three) exit visa

If they also accept resemblance
as a phenomenon, you’ll not
be interned with anyone
who doesn’t speak your language

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This poet is just not for me. I also read her first book and had the same issues connecting with the material. The poems in this collection are too private -- the language is distorted and chaotic in a way that seems to reference experiences unknown to us. I'm sure many of these word associations have meaning to the writer, but they don't translate to an everyday reader. The best poems were those that were more grounded, like the opening poem -- we have solid images and associations that balance with the chaos. Most of the poems are unbalanced. This book also seems to be a kind of love letter to New York, but as someone who has never lived in New York, I didn't understand most of the references and likely a lot of context necessary to parse these poems. If you are a New Yorker, you may have a better time with this book.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Goodreads giveaway recipient**

Poetry is so difficult to judge because there are just so many layers! It comes from the poet’s heart, but it may not specifically speak to MY heart (but that doesn’t make it bad); the metaphor and illusion; the play on words and meanings and turns of phrase and structure breakdown (this is my favorite aspect of this chapbook); the rich allusion that I don’t always understand.

I will say that the description of this book is wayyyy deeper than anything I got out of it. I saw some select poems that fit into different parts of the description, but I never felt it all to cohere together. Maybe with some scholarly time and in-depth dissection, I’d be able to see it ALL.

This is really a lovely chapbook; just not stellar for me.
Some poems stood out more for me than others, and I still enjoyed it overall.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘No Matter’ by Jana Prikryl is a collection of poetry that deals with cities in decline and decay and the individuals left to face that.

Weaving themes of destruction with notes from classic literature and celebrity, these poems are percussive and abstract. When our physical structures are gone, what happens to the idea of ruling a city? There are few people throughout and they move ghostlike through former cities and seemingly lots of water. There is joy and grief as well as loss and love.

I really enjoyed reading this, but I think it’s not a light read and has depth and beauty for the careful reader. I found myself swept along in these empty cities and meaningful word construction.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first encounter with Prikryl. The movement in her poems is fascinatingly disjunctive, urbane, and literary in a wary crouch. Her engagements rate her much more Bob Silvers than Ellen Willis; but she dedicates poems to both. Poetry, on this view, is highly exclusive which may be why the persons of this volume (each person a title repeated multiple times) seem a little like a clique. Or like a coterie, it's also full of mistrust. I long for the Long Island pastoralism of Frank O'Hara. But Prikryl has the courage of her convictions, too, and that's why the poems frequently find a sound of their own.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. This is not an easy book of poetry. The poems demand to be read and reread until the meaning is slowly worked out. Some of the poems resonated with me, and I thought they were really good, with clever use of metaphor. Others didn't really do it for me. My favorites were Got, Friend, and Snapshot. I also loved this line from Friend: I said the wrong thing again but really meant it.

[Marci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of No Matter by Jana Prikryl from First to read in exchange for an honest review. I can't really give an opinion on this book because I did not realize that it was a book of poetry when I signed up for it. I am really not that into poetry. I did not understand the book and found it depressing. But that is just me, no reflection on the author.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this I shared the experience of the poet:

Got
off a stop early but no harm,
A pleasant walk. This is a different place.

The fragmentary observations and poignant visions in this book carried me to "the shores of speculation" (p. 15), but the riddles and shards ultimately lacked emotional power

[Victoria Zieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a goodreads giveaway. The poems were okay. I found some of them to be a bit repetitive and dense in parts. I think some of the poetry was a bit too much in the surface and not filled with enough depth or emotion. Some were good and interesting/ though provoking. This was just okay for me.

[Claudia Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

after four read-throughs, i’ve decided i love this collection. but then again, it took four times to get me there. but then AGAIN, i kept coming back to re-read it for some reason. 4 stars for 4 reads.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very New York- perhaps someone more enamoured with the city would enjoy this collection. For me it was intelligent yet placid.

[Holly]

Only read about half before had to return to library. Is poems

[Robert Walkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t get much out of this book the first time I read it. But when I read it again the way Prikryl uses words jumped out at me. The Waves poems were my favorites.

[Jessie McMains · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book.

[Alexander Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure I would have liked this book of poetry better if I was a resident of New York City and was familiar with the region.

[Tynan Brooks]

Trying to read more poetry in 2024. Can't say I connected to this; too abstract and New Yorker for a neophyte like me. More useful for my own writing than edifying as a text for me.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me.