Customer Reviews

The Niagara River: Poems (Grove Press Poetry)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a big fan of poetry and this book did not disappoint me. I live in Australia, and therefore am not exposed to what is au courant in the US anymore [originally from the US]. I saw Kay Ryan on the Lehrer Report which is broadcast over here. She was reading from this book, and I decided to buy a copy.
The poems are earthy and touch places of the heart that elicit a sigh of recognition. It is good to read poetry that is open, uncoded and taps into our everyday experiences with such elegant simplicity.

Prize winning poet Kay Ryan presents The Niagara River, the latest entry in the Grove Press Poetry Series. The brief, free-verse vignettes cascade into defining, picturesque moments, perfectly capturing a thought, mote, or moment of time before thundering onward like the Niagara River itself. The result is a treat for poetry lovers of all persuasions. "Thin": How anything / is known / is so thin- / a skin of ice / over a pond / only birds might / confidently walk / upon. A bird's / worth of weight / or one bird-weight / of Wordsworth.

The poetry is contempory and uses traditional elements, such as occational rhyme. Wonderful images and subjects that linger in the mind the day after reading them.

Kay Ryan's poetry is deep without being overwhelming. Each poem is short, and even the lines within it are short - very readable and pithy. Most poems only occupy a single page and can be read several times and understood without spending a half an hour in deciphering them.

I love the way Kay Ryan plays with words and rhymes. Her poems don't rhyme in the traditional sense, but she throws in rhyming words in unexpected places. The rhymes add emphasis; they catch the reader off guard. Some of her poems are deep and poignant. Others are rollicking and funny. My favorites take an ordinary image and relate it unexpectedly to something quite extraordinary. Here's just a taste:

Hide and Seek

It's hard not
to jump out
instead of
waiting to be
found. It's
hard to be
alone so long
and then hear
someone come
around. It's
like some form
of skin's developed
in the air
that, rather
than have torn,
you tear.

This is compact, gorgeous book of poetry interlaced with slices of amazing light. Enough said...
But get the print version; do not get the Kindle version. Some poetry works well on Kindle but the publisher of this Kindle version has done a disservice to the poetry. Titles are on one 'page', poems on the next; each poem is in a different sized font, depending apparently on the length of the poem; in many cases a single poem that crosses multiple Kindle 'pages' will appear in multiple sizes of font. Uck. On poetry formatting for Kindle, best to do it right, or just not do it all.
Get the print version on this and you will treasure it.
Ryan's book - 5 stars; Kindle formatting, negative -2.