WEE reviews May 4, 2006

Tell Me by Maggie Nelson

Julie: I can't say there's something specifically wrong with this poem. It's not that I think the poet made a mistake anywhere, except perhaps in choosing a subject she couldn't really make pop from the page. The poem ends up workmanlike instead of wow.

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Three Poems by Robin Robertson

Julie: The first of the three poems is the only one that really drew me. The second one felt pat, the third too attempted-clever. The first, especially with the unexpected image of the butterfly, was not spectacular, but it showed some nice attention to sound and image.

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Chora by Josh Hanson

Julie: I said yesterday that I thought Hanson's poems were improving as the week went on. I still think so, though this poem is perhaps a little less well-realized than yesterday's. I appreciate the spacing, the deliberation in this poem, the quiet voice:

When the ground still holds,
Though shut up, something of the sun.