September 20

Smaller Dog by Stephen Cushman

The whole poem for me is in the final two strophes. Until then, it wasn't a painful read, but had nothing particularly sparkly about it. The end is lovely, but too little too late for me. Still, I'd read more by this poet with interest.

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Excavation of the John Alden House and Notes on the Riverbank by David Roderick

The first poem is ponderous, with few word choices to elevate it above dense prose. The second poem, though it isn't exactly to my taste, has some transformative language, some very important phrasing. It sings and settles. A quarter of the words, and five times the meaning for this reviewer.

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Tennessee by Alison Stine

It's hard sometimes to read a poem that connects so well without hearing a tiny voice saying "if it were miiine I would..." Just a little nip, a little tuck, but I like it as it stands and don't you doubt it.

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Feeder Lamb by Robin Yim

Oh, lambs in poems are certainly fraught with all sorts of complicated symbology, but this one grabbed me hard with the second line. I cared, though this isn't a surprising poem, or remotely cutting-edge. Oh dear. It's a dead animal poem again. I should seek therapy.