Aviya, I agree with you that more of us need to write reviews--I write about one a month, mostly for Rhino Poetry. And I also agree with Auden, though I didn't know what he'd said about reviews. Especially for poetry, so little read in our country though there are too many collections published each year for anyone to read them all, it makes no sense to publish a review that cuts a poet down. Lift up the books that are satisfying to read, even if (we are all human) flawed. In the case of Gone Girl, which I feel no temptation to read, I can see writing a catty review if it's deserved, since it has gotten so much positive attention. But that's a very different case!
Hi Susanna, it's great that you review regularly! I wonder how we can encourage other writers to review more often. I have a similar philosophy on reviews.....but I have often been the only reviewer of an excellent book and I really wish this were not the case.
Aviya -- this is such a terrific post; thank you. I loved the overall idiosyncratic humanity of these reviewers -- from Auden's excellent observation that bad work will die on its own accord; to the basic decency of Stephen King's zinger of a last sentence. Years before Claire Dederer's Monsters, he was making a similar point that the life *does* matter; and that that too is part of the record. Anyhow -- thank you for the powerful reminder that if we want a flourishing literary ecosphere we all have to pony up with out water buckets ;)
Paul, thanks so much for this generous comment! I remember being amazed by Stephen King's review when I first read it, and I'm still grateful for it. He also reminds us that *someone* helped in those tough early years, and at the very least the decent thing is to acknowledge it.
I’m not an academic and don’t even have an MFA so who would want my opinion?! But I agree with you that reviewing is a worthwhile activity, especially the idea of keeping the conversation going, and I try to put some effort into my short and sweet reviews on StoryGraph. (I abandoned GoodReads because it’s owned by Amazon.)
Hi Josette! I would be very interested in reading your reviews -- you're a poet and you read a lot! Do you have any favorite or recommended sources for poetry reviews?
I have been enjoying Michael Mercurios "deep dives" into individual poems! He posts them ahead of the reading when he's hosting his What the Universe Is zoom readings. https://damncurious.substack.com/
Aviya, I agree with you that more of us need to write reviews--I write about one a month, mostly for Rhino Poetry. And I also agree with Auden, though I didn't know what he'd said about reviews. Especially for poetry, so little read in our country though there are too many collections published each year for anyone to read them all, it makes no sense to publish a review that cuts a poet down. Lift up the books that are satisfying to read, even if (we are all human) flawed. In the case of Gone Girl, which I feel no temptation to read, I can see writing a catty review if it's deserved, since it has gotten so much positive attention. But that's a very different case!
Hi Susanna, it's great that you review regularly! I wonder how we can encourage other writers to review more often. I have a similar philosophy on reviews.....but I have often been the only reviewer of an excellent book and I really wish this were not the case.
Aviya -- this is such a terrific post; thank you. I loved the overall idiosyncratic humanity of these reviewers -- from Auden's excellent observation that bad work will die on its own accord; to the basic decency of Stephen King's zinger of a last sentence. Years before Claire Dederer's Monsters, he was making a similar point that the life *does* matter; and that that too is part of the record. Anyhow -- thank you for the powerful reminder that if we want a flourishing literary ecosphere we all have to pony up with out water buckets ;)
Paul, thanks so much for this generous comment! I remember being amazed by Stephen King's review when I first read it, and I'm still grateful for it. He also reminds us that *someone* helped in those tough early years, and at the very least the decent thing is to acknowledge it.
I’m not an academic and don’t even have an MFA so who would want my opinion?! But I agree with you that reviewing is a worthwhile activity, especially the idea of keeping the conversation going, and I try to put some effort into my short and sweet reviews on StoryGraph. (I abandoned GoodReads because it’s owned by Amazon.)
Hi Josette! I would be very interested in reading your reviews -- you're a poet and you read a lot! Do you have any favorite or recommended sources for poetry reviews?
I have been enjoying Michael Mercurios "deep dives" into individual poems! He posts them ahead of the reading when he's hosting his What the Universe Is zoom readings. https://damncurious.substack.com/
Thank you for this recommendation, Josette! I will check it out.