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A review by apalershadeofwhite
What Noise Against the Cane, Volume 115 by Desiree C. Bailey
4.0
This collection really had me thinking, picking apart, and evaluating life. Bailey has a way with words that really grip you and pierce your emotions and thoughts. My personal favourites from this collection are: 'Accent', 'Guesswork', 'First American Years', 'A Retrograde' , and 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil'.
Although I wasn't a fan of some of the structures and forms of the poem, her experimentation and inclusion of different forms is something I highly commend. The layout and form of 'La Divina, Mother of Miracles' is one that is predominantly jarring when you first read it. I tried to read this poem a couple different ways because the layout is so odd, but the content is still really thought-provoking and powerful; as is the rest of her poetry. The layout of 'It's Risky to Love in the Season of Hunters' is really memorable as well because the poem is split into three segments and each segment is a different form of poetry! I think that's really interesting and modern.
Bailey's collection is definitely something to pick up if you like overarching themes. She consistently touches upon questions and instance of faith, erasure, culture and nature (such as the sea and water as well as plants and roots).
She doesn't really play with rhyme too much, but there are instances of rhyme and sound play within the collection which really help emphasise a point or convey an emotion, for example. The rhyme often takes you aback and makes you stop and think, which is something I believe was intentional and this collection does intend to provoke thought and internal discussion. The tone leans more towards free-verse and stream of consciousness due to the rhyme and also the excessive enjambment / lack of punctuation.
The 'Notes' section at the end is also really informative. It helped me delve deeper into things I picked up or didn't pick up on within the poems and has given me things to research and really think about.
As much as I think everyone should consider picking up this text and others like it that raise the same questions and internal debates, this particular one is not for you if you prefer structures and traditional poetry styles and rhyme or are not a lover of poetry in general.
Although I wasn't a fan of some of the structures and forms of the poem, her experimentation and inclusion of different forms is something I highly commend. The layout and form of 'La Divina, Mother of Miracles' is one that is predominantly jarring when you first read it. I tried to read this poem a couple different ways because the layout is so odd, but the content is still really thought-provoking and powerful; as is the rest of her poetry. The layout of 'It's Risky to Love in the Season of Hunters' is really memorable as well because the poem is split into three segments and each segment is a different form of poetry! I think that's really interesting and modern.
Bailey's collection is definitely something to pick up if you like overarching themes. She consistently touches upon questions and instance of faith, erasure, culture and nature (such as the sea and water as well as plants and roots).
She doesn't really play with rhyme too much, but there are instances of rhyme and sound play within the collection which really help emphasise a point or convey an emotion, for example. The rhyme often takes you aback and makes you stop and think, which is something I believe was intentional and this collection does intend to provoke thought and internal discussion. The tone leans more towards free-verse and stream of consciousness due to the rhyme and also the excessive enjambment / lack of punctuation.
The 'Notes' section at the end is also really informative. It helped me delve deeper into things I picked up or didn't pick up on within the poems and has given me things to research and really think about.
As much as I think everyone should consider picking up this text and others like it that raise the same questions and internal debates, this particular one is not for you if you prefer structures and traditional poetry styles and rhyme or are not a lover of poetry in general.