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Hindsight: a poetry collection
There is no doubt that even at her young age, Ivanova is a poet to watch. She is at her strongest when she weaves her imagery and mastery of language to create scenes of bodies and hearts meeting, or descriptions of how the body changes when it feels the stress of our emotions. - Sean Felix, Author of Did You Even Know I Was Here?
Hindsight is the first collection of poetry released by Ivanova. In many ways, Hindsight is an autobiography, capturing Sofiya's pre-teen and early teen years, and all the feelings that come with it.It covers topics such as losing your family pet, leaving behind your childhood, wanting to be special and important, your parents being imperfect people, mental health, etc, etc. And, of course, figuring out love. In Russian (the poet's first language), there's a saying that goes like, “the first pancake comes out as a lump”, and that applies to love too. The first few pancakes, in this case. There are a lot of love poems. There are a lot of bitter poems, too, because art is a great outlet for anger. Those read as though they should have a mic drop at the end.
Hindsight not only reads like a coming of age collection as an introduction to the world of a new and gifted poet. But, it is also an exorcism and celebration of the past as she becomes a poet that sees the world with clarity and beauty; a poet that we all need.
Hindsight is the first collection of poetry released by Ivanova. In many ways, Hindsight is an autobiography, capturing Sofiya's pre-teen and early teen years, and all the feelings that come with it.It covers topics such as losing your family pet, leaving behind your childhood, wanting to be special and important, your parents being imperfect people, mental health, etc, etc. And, of course, figuring out love. In Russian (the poet's first language), there's a saying that goes like, “the first pancake comes out as a lump”, and that applies to love too. The first few pancakes, in this case. There are a lot of love poems. There are a lot of bitter poems, too, because art is a great outlet for anger. Those read as though they should have a mic drop at the end.
Hindsight not only reads like a coming of age collection as an introduction to the world of a new and gifted poet. But, it is also an exorcism and celebration of the past as she becomes a poet that sees the world with clarity and beauty; a poet that we all need.
105 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 22, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 22, 2024
NOTE: I received a free eBook copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers (February 2022).
"Hindsight" is the debut collection of poetry from Sofiya Ivanova, a Russian-born teenager who grew up in the United States. In the Preface, she tells readers that the poems are arranged chronologically, with the earliest poems opening the volume and her later verses towards the end. As such, we can trace her development both as a poet and as a young person trying to figure out life. In reading the collection, it is clear that there is a lot of struggle involved in her coming of age, not all of it pretty. Ivanova relates moments of depression, anxiety, desperation, and interpersonal strife through her poetry, yet it is often difficult to determine the exact life circumstances to which she alludes. In fact, she seems to take the writer's dictum of "write only for yourself" a little too far. It is one thing to leave creative writing open to interpretation, but in Ivanova's case, the meaning is so arcane that it is often thoroughly inscrutable. In spite of this, the progression of poems reveals a poet who is dedicated to her craft and who has grown as a creative thinker. There are well-crafted lines that crop up throughout the collection that I would pause to savor, including a few in "Orion's Belt." My favorite poems were "Her Name," "The Moon and the Sun," and "The After-Party on Mercury," and I found "Serenity" highly personal to my own experiences. The final poem in the collection, "The Sound of the Earth," is a fitting homage to the Colorado landscape. Hopefully Ivanova will treat us to more poems like that one in the near future.
"Hindsight" is the debut collection of poetry from Sofiya Ivanova, a Russian-born teenager who grew up in the United States. In the Preface, she tells readers that the poems are arranged chronologically, with the earliest poems opening the volume and her later verses towards the end. As such, we can trace her development both as a poet and as a young person trying to figure out life. In reading the collection, it is clear that there is a lot of struggle involved in her coming of age, not all of it pretty. Ivanova relates moments of depression, anxiety, desperation, and interpersonal strife through her poetry, yet it is often difficult to determine the exact life circumstances to which she alludes. In fact, she seems to take the writer's dictum of "write only for yourself" a little too far. It is one thing to leave creative writing open to interpretation, but in Ivanova's case, the meaning is so arcane that it is often thoroughly inscrutable. In spite of this, the progression of poems reveals a poet who is dedicated to her craft and who has grown as a creative thinker. There are well-crafted lines that crop up throughout the collection that I would pause to savor, including a few in "Orion's Belt." My favorite poems were "Her Name," "The Moon and the Sun," and "The After-Party on Mercury," and I found "Serenity" highly personal to my own experiences. The final poem in the collection, "The Sound of the Earth," is a fitting homage to the Colorado landscape. Hopefully Ivanova will treat us to more poems like that one in the near future.
January 29, 2025
the author states she is a cancer so thats why it will be moody and sad and tells us exactly how she wants us to feel going into it and leaving the book DO NOT PISS ME OFF!!!!!! TUMBLR IS A FREE AND OPEN FORUM!!!!!!!
January 31, 2022
this collection is excellent and honestly beyond description. trust me, just read it.
May 22, 2022
4/5 ⭐
The imagery is impeccable! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I'm amazed by Sofiya's depth and I truly am looking forward to reading more of her poems !
The imagery is impeccable! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I'm amazed by Sofiya's depth and I truly am looking forward to reading more of her poems !
January 12, 2022
I am obviously biased because I edited and published this book, but seriously, she wrote some of these poems when she was thirteen. I can’t wait to see what Sofiya comes up with next.
August 26, 2022
So impressed this was published in their junior year of high school! While the poems didn’t speak to me as much as other poetry I have recently read- poems like “I want to make art” make me so excited to read whatever they publish next!
Will be sharing with my librarian friend, so they can share it with other young adult readers because I think this would speak deeply to them. The poetry was very accessible and readable.
Will be sharing with my librarian friend, so they can share it with other young adult readers because I think this would speak deeply to them. The poetry was very accessible and readable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews