Messy On The Inside [Paperback]

Eileen Albrizio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

Eileen Albrizio writes entirely in formal verse. This powerful 90-page collection is deeply emotional, highly charged, sometimes witty, and very, very honest! Combining dark contemporary realities with classic grace, this new book is a necessary edition to every poetry collection! Check out the artist's web page for examples of her work, and links to more!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Eileen Albrizio explores deep, dark places where raw emotion boils and swirls, threatening to overwhelm both poet and reader. Fortunately for everyone's sanity, Albrizio imposes order through her use of formal structure, achieving a delicate balance between austere decorum and let-it-all hang-out rant. Albrizio eloquently demonstrates that the most rigid form cannot stifle honest passion. She writes of ancient anguish, today's torment, impending iniquity in both classical and modern form and meter. The reader senses that Albrizio will conquer her own pain by creating an accessible poetic style. -- Priscilla Herrington, author of Pathways

Eileen Albrizio has a lot to tell us about the balance between the smoothness of form, on the outside, and the missiness of pain and uncertainty on the inside. Albrizio knows that there's no direct route into that messiness, and she's provided us with an impressive variety of structures for finding our way. -- Tad Richards

It is a pleasure to read Eileen Albrizio's book, Messy on the Inside. Her poems touch on sensitive topics, contemporary ones, handled expertly within the formal style. Her sharp images, and deft use of language all written within the discipline of poetic form prove that she has mastered her craft. -- Suzy Lamson, poet

About the Author

Eileen Albrizio, noted for writing in formal verse, was a member of the 1998 Connecticut national poetry slam team, and is a member of the celebrated writer's circle Artemis Rising. An award-winning playwrite and poet, Eileen's plays Whats a Mother For? and Rain have been recognized by the Writer's Digest as one of the best plays of 1996 and 1997 respectively. She studied undergraduate theatre at Central Connecticut State University and graduate playwriting at Weslyan Univeristy in Middletown, Connecticut. Eileen began a career in broadcast news in 1994, received the 1996 Connecticut Associated Press Best Newscast Award, and currently works for Connecticut Public Radio, a member station of National Public Radio, as a news anchor and reporter. Eileen and her husband, Wayne Horgan, own a comic book store in Rocky Hill, Connecticut called Heroes & Hitters. The two live in the Hartford area with their three cats, Trouble, Buddy and Smokee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 90 pages
• Publisher: Ye Olde Font Shoppe (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889289329
• ISBN-13: 978-1889289328
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,619,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brave and powerful experience...what poetry should be!, June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Messy On The Inside (Paperback)

This book is visually appealing and powerfully stimulating on every level. Albrizio's poetry has exposed her soul, and touched mine. Her use of form is exceptional! I had no idea formal verse could be so freeing. It seems she uses the photographs, which are scattered throughout the book as poems as well, bringing out only a moment or a word and making it completely visual.

I loved "The Thinning of Filomena", a poem that portrays a traditional woman who is admired for her great (Italian) cooking, only to starve herself to the point of being hospitalized. The poem took me through the kitchen. I smelled the calamari, and tasted the bitter lemon, and was shocked by Filomena's ultimate fate. The poem combines a difficult rhyme scheme, that is not even noticeable upon the first read. It is smooth and never forced.

Another example is "Antidepressants". A poem that combines repetition and rhyme to show the chronic, cyclical patterns of depression.

And "Pretty Girls", a sarcastic, almost tongue-in-cheek look at our basic insecurities, and the debilitating role we all play in keeping each other down. It, like all of her poetry, grabs hold of the emotions we hide deepest in our hearts and brings them to surface, all the while, surrounding it with perfect form.

A true work of art. I would recommend it to anyone, young or old!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible depth of emotion and deftness of language, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Messy On The Inside (Paperback)

Albrizio's poetry has a wonderfully classic feel. It grabs hold of dark and often overwhelming emotions and clips its wings, and puts it in a cage.

I've read her poems over and over, like I have with all of the great poets of the early twentieth century. Poetry that is truly art. This is the kind of book that should be in every classroom. It is a fine example of the proper use of form, while at the same time entertaining and moving. Even the seemingly simple poems, such as Haiku and rondolet are surprisingly powerful and complex. There is a layer to everything, so I always have something different to look forward to when I reread the poem. Each word is carefully picked, without ever feeling forced. It also is extraordinarily visual. The imagery is sharp, and the scattered photographs are a compliment.

I can't wait for her next book.