Woman Reading to the Sea: Poems

by Lisa Williams

“Lisa Williams brings us a poetry of intense observation yoked with equal force to celebration and cerebration.”—Gregory Orr

"Poems of arresting intelligence, precision, and beauty. . . . Lisa Williams takes us into eerily imagined worlds—the interior of a jellyfish, and the interior of a glacier. . . . This slender volume constitutes a journey.”—Joyce Carol Oates, Barnard Women Poets Prize citation

Genres: Poetry

130 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2008

Reviews

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stole this book from my mother in law's shelf when we cleaned out her house for the last time. Overall, I didn't connect with much. The style is a bit too Transcendental for my taste. But there were some great lines, a few poems I enjoyed, and one poem, "Laurel," that lit me on fire. The third star is for that poem alone.

[dewey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

The poems about churches were my favorites in this book. They were very evocative and intriguing, and made this book worthwhile in my opinion. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the other poems in this book simply went over my head.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The language of these poems is a delight. I would like to have seen more connection between the subject and the speaker of the poems, or more imaginative leaps that help evolve the book's arc from beginning to end.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the evocative poems about nature, birds, tides the sea, etc. I wasn't touched by the whole book, but half is pretty good for a poetry book. Some of the literary homage to other poets left me cold. Not "poetry educated" enough I guess, to understand the allusions.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some beautiful poems in this collection, but I'm left kinda feeling 'eh' overall. Maybe I wasn't quite in the right frame of mind or mood, and there were some lovely images...