Customer Reviews

Tell Me (American Poets Continuum)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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This book is a marvelous tonic for those who denigrate the contemporary use of traditional form and storytelling in poems. Old fashioned? Out of date? Read this book and Wake Up! Smart, sassy, funny, sexy, tender and bold, these poems give us the news of a wild, humane world that I, for one, am delighted to wake up living in. In a world of so many poet-phonies, Addonizio is grounded. Her poems are the real deal.

Tell Me is as wonderful as Philosopher's Club. The poems have a raw, sensuous power to them. They feel confessional without being confessionalist poetry. This is just an awesome collection from a wonderful poet. I'm turning into such a fan of hers that i may have to become president of the fan club.

Addonizio uses a conversational linguistic strategy. Her work is exceedingly accessible and clear. She uses a personal authority to make broad statements about contemporary life, but is not confessional.

One senses that her best work is yet to come, but that Tell Me will be a popular collection. I enjoyed this volume and (full disclosure) have worked briefly with the author.

I love all of Kim Addonzios' work and this is another fine example of why.
She writes with a blunt edge and always tells the truth forcing the reader to
take a little closer look at how her words tell their story.

I read this book for an independent study in women's sexuality. This book of poetry has a section titled "Good Girl" in which a number of poems specifically address femininity and female sexuality including What Do Women Want, Good Girl, Physics, and One-Night Stands. Addonizio uses vivid and often stark imagery to depict important female moments, like single motherhood and meaningless sexual encounters. Few other poets deal with issues so central to female identity with as much blunt force as Addonizio does in this book.

Also, on a side note, she is a very kind woman who, when I asked if I could put excerpts from her book onto my independent study blog said that no one should ever have to ask to write about poetry. This is a real book with real emotions about a real woman. It is not always lyrical but it is rich with "woman." I was glad to have read this.

Stunning meditations on loss, longing, substance, and sexuality. A must-read for fans of the confessional school. www.stephenandrewpalermo.com

Some poets write poems that are momentarily enjoyed, then forgotten. Kim Addonizio writes poems that have stickability.

Tell Me illustrates this, with poems like "The Divorcee and Gin." The opening line, "I love the frosted pints you come in," segues into a meditation on gin that is so full of specifics you can almost smell the alcohol. There is an inherent sensuality at work, with lines like "...God, I love/what you do to me at night when we're alone" and this quality brings a physical edge to the reader. That by the final lines we realize it's a love poem, is a testament to the skill of the poet. It comes as no surprise that her work is praised by so many other poets, including Billy Collins and Carolyn Kizer.

Addonizio is a consummate craftsman, and in exploring her work, I've come to realize that every comma, line break, and nuance is carefully considered and expertly placed. She's a poet I recommend frequently to novices and seasoned readers as well. She's a poet that I believe will be remembered. This book offers sonnets, free verse, and prose poems that are narrative confessional, but they don't just belong to the poet. They're our poems as well.

I read this book in my advanced creative writing class at Roger Williams University. We all enjoyed the book so much. Kim came to my school and gave informal talks and a reading. She was great. I love her voice in this book. She is straight forward and honest. She puts a great spin on poetry. Her other books are great too! Read them!

If I could meet one poet in the world, it would be this poet. I am in love with the way she writes. She is so artful yet edgy! I don't know how she does it, but I bow down before her. It kills me to have to wait so long for her next book!

Addonizio's poems speak honestly and openly about issues many people would prefer to avoid. She doesn't mask life's truth in her eloquently written poems. Her poetry grabs the reader and forces he/she to witness the reality of family, sex, violence, and personal darkness. Although any lover of poetry would enjoy this poet's work, I recommend every young woman, striving to be a successful writer, take in all Addonizio's raw magic.