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Ghost Stories
A collection of love stories, told in poems, from one would-be lover to another. From The Trouble With "The trouble is that I hold them up to my mouth,lip to this bit of fruitskin, this network of fructose and sclereids,pretending that it is warm, that it breathes and moves and goest o markets on Sundays, that it wears silver rings and ink, that it is not violet but the freshred of your mouth and that this is some kind of strange kiss."
- GenresPoetry
79 pages, paperback
Published September 16, 2019
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 17, 2019
makes me think that maybe love is worth it
This is the kind of poetry that you finish reading and realise you had a space for it in you all along. It's all right, let it nestle there. It is 1 part sad, 2 parts desperate, and all parts hopeful and lovely. Would rate 10 stars if I could.
This is the kind of poetry that you finish reading and realise you had a space for it in you all along. It's all right, let it nestle there. It is 1 part sad, 2 parts desperate, and all parts hopeful and lovely. Would rate 10 stars if I could.
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November 1, 2019no rating, cause it seems... inappropriate, somehow? It made me feel some sort of feeling and I'm really not sure if I like it. Let's just say my pencil looks miserable now.
niebiosa, to takie krępujące.
niebiosa, to takie krępujące.
April 7, 2023
I thought incredibly highly of this poetry collection when Lear first released it : fresh on the heels of reading a lot of their stories, and being in a community of others who wanted to gush about it. It's been a few years, and with that distance the shine has come off it, but just a bit; it's still a moving read.
This collection is styled as love stories, or rather, as one love story, but played out in alternate universes, told in different ways to see if it comes out any differently. This conceit is clever, and does pay off well in the final piece. That said, it does fall victim to being overly repetitive. I wasn't always grabbed by the circumstances of this particular poem, and how it differs from the others in the book in its telling. The style itself exacerbates this; Lear uses many structures and images often, to the point they feel like crutches. There can be found within these repetitions a feeling that Lear is trying to fit a specific niche here, trying to appeal to the same people who like Richard Siken and the National. It's one thing to know your audience, but it feels a bit like Lear is trying to recruit their audience; the apparent effort can feel insincere.
Nevertheless, the story being told here is moving. When Lear is genuine, when the desperation and heartache spills through, it's beautifully evocative. There are pieces here I look forward to revisiting from time to time, far out in the future. I hope Lear is continuing to write; I would like to read what's next from them.
This collection is styled as love stories, or rather, as one love story, but played out in alternate universes, told in different ways to see if it comes out any differently. This conceit is clever, and does pay off well in the final piece. That said, it does fall victim to being overly repetitive. I wasn't always grabbed by the circumstances of this particular poem, and how it differs from the others in the book in its telling. The style itself exacerbates this; Lear uses many structures and images often, to the point they feel like crutches. There can be found within these repetitions a feeling that Lear is trying to fit a specific niche here, trying to appeal to the same people who like Richard Siken and the National. It's one thing to know your audience, but it feels a bit like Lear is trying to recruit their audience; the apparent effort can feel insincere.
Nevertheless, the story being told here is moving. When Lear is genuine, when the desperation and heartache spills through, it's beautifully evocative. There are pieces here I look forward to revisiting from time to time, far out in the future. I hope Lear is continuing to write; I would like to read what's next from them.
August 16, 2021
I consider myself a lover of poetry, but there’s a lot out there I just don’t connect to. This, though. This connects. I appreciate the unusual metaphors, dark and huge and universal. This is the kind of poetry that helps me know myself a little better. What more can I ask for?
March 6, 2020
Absolutely beautiful. A series of vignettes that resonate with the intensity of young love, self-doubt, and self-discovery. Lear wonderfully captures that combination of hope and anxiety that come with the vulnerability of a new relationship.
Lear's writing has a timeless feeling, blending fairy-tale like imagery with rich, honest, raw details. Reminds me a bit of the magic realism of Jeannette Winterson or Anne Carson, but with an underlying gentleness/tenderness that makes this one I can reach for when I'm feeling down.
Highly recommend it.
Lear's writing has a timeless feeling, blending fairy-tale like imagery with rich, honest, raw details. Reminds me a bit of the magic realism of Jeannette Winterson or Anne Carson, but with an underlying gentleness/tenderness that makes this one I can reach for when I'm feeling down.
Highly recommend it.
September 30, 2019
We all imagine those possible lives we could have lived, dream lives conjured from wild longing.
Reading this collection of poetry is looking through windows leading to those star-filled, deep-sea places where ingredients that should have never touched are mixed and kneaded together (or maybe they should have always been together just like this). There is a feeling of yearning, of nostalgia, and of half-remembered pasts and futures. Of reaching and finding nothing. You’ll find yourself wanting to take the protagonist's offering of
“. . . this strange anglerfish mouth, my bony
shoulders, my whittled hands, this little bit of bioluminescence
hanging over my brow, over my eyes,
like a star out of nothing,
like what you asked for and yet not,
not at all.”
Repeating themes, colors, feelings, and words in the collection tie the world of each poem to the next, with the last poem knotting the bow. You’ll find yourself craning to figure out where you are--are you in the deep sea, are you in New York City, are you in a room with a half-empty bed? The answer will be carved in beautifully unique imagery, and you’ll want to reach out and touch that nightscattered-haired ghost at the center of it all.
Reading this collection of poetry is looking through windows leading to those star-filled, deep-sea places where ingredients that should have never touched are mixed and kneaded together (or maybe they should have always been together just like this). There is a feeling of yearning, of nostalgia, and of half-remembered pasts and futures. Of reaching and finding nothing. You’ll find yourself wanting to take the protagonist's offering of
“. . . this strange anglerfish mouth, my bony
shoulders, my whittled hands, this little bit of bioluminescence
hanging over my brow, over my eyes,
like a star out of nothing,
like what you asked for and yet not,
not at all.”
Repeating themes, colors, feelings, and words in the collection tie the world of each poem to the next, with the last poem knotting the bow. You’ll find yourself craning to figure out where you are--are you in the deep sea, are you in New York City, are you in a room with a half-empty bed? The answer will be carved in beautifully unique imagery, and you’ll want to reach out and touch that nightscattered-haired ghost at the center of it all.
September 19, 2019
It feels like a desperate, yearning love song between the ocean and the sky. It's the kind of poetry that makes you remember why you love poetry.
The imagery is so powerful and raw and although each poem is different, they all feel like one cohesive thought, as if the point of view is always from the same person or that it's the same two people and it swaps back and forth. Or as if it takes place in a world where we're all borne from stardust, feathers, and seafoam.
I loved it, from start to finish, and if you're looking for a short collection of love poems that will make you FEEL more than just the sap and butterflies of love, look no further.
The imagery is so powerful and raw and although each poem is different, they all feel like one cohesive thought, as if the point of view is always from the same person or that it's the same two people and it swaps back and forth. Or as if it takes place in a world where we're all borne from stardust, feathers, and seafoam.
I loved it, from start to finish, and if you're looking for a short collection of love poems that will make you FEEL more than just the sap and butterflies of love, look no further.
November 3, 2019
Lear pulls together a surprisingly diverse range of imagery (biblical, astronomical, culinary, nautical) for this collection of poetry. Several lines were oddly striking and stuck with me, but ultimately the poems weren't focused and concise enough for my tastes.
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November 6, 2021Biting, muscular, potent queer poetry. They are a poet to watch.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews