Customer Reviews

In the House of Slaves

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i love the way she writes about dark subjects, which range from adultery to child abuse...she tries on many masks in her poetry and they are always breathtaking. she is gifted with imagery and many of the poems i could see as clear as paintings as i was reading them. you have a right to criticize her, but i wonder could you do any better? i doubt it. they registered strongly with me on an emotional level. i love artists who dont let political correctness influence their work. evelyn is also a fine novelist, too...

Evelyn Lau is a Canadian genius and her poetry is so truthful and wrapped with pain. I love Lau's courage her courage to explore the depths of her agony and despair. She does not hate men Lau is heterosexual for the record. She is just being honest the poems were written when Lau was in her early twenties. Natually when a person is in their early twenties they think differently then when they are an adult.

Most people have disturbing sexual experiences some times in thier lifes and yes, Everlyn Lau's were worse than most. Men do treat women with disrespect and being the other woman is no fun. Although, I agree with all those premises, and agree that these topics should be explored in poetry, I cannot condone talking about it over and over and over again in the same collection.

If everlyn condenced some of these poems with similar ideas into longer ones, and stopped revisiting the same topics throughout the whole book, I think she could be a good poet. For this collection, she is an immature writer, lacking in experience, and different perspective. Apart from the henious experience she lived through on the streets, that somehow must have -in the Canadian Literary scene- gained her sympathy points, I cannot understand why she is hailed as such a celebrated writer. Decent: yes, great: no.

Evelyn writes about her days on the streets and as a prostitute. She hates men, judging by these poems,and judging from her "Diary of a Street Kid" she hates herself, and is self-destructive and self-absorbed at the same time. Kind of hard to figure. But she is a good writer; bright with obvious talent. I just wish she would fall in love, and write some less disturbing poetry.