Poetry review: STARTLEMENT

Happy National Poetry Month (April)

Title: Startlement: New and Selected Poems by Ada Limón

Book Beginnings/First Line Friday:

Poem: "FIRST LUNCH WITH RELATIVE STRANGER MISTER YOU"

We solved the problem of the wind

                                                with an orange.

Friday56:

Poem: "FLOOD COMING"

The pulled-apart world scatters

its news like a brush fire,

the ink bleeds out the day's undoing

and here we are again: alive.

Summary: Limón's ability to touch readers of all ages had made her a favorite among readers. This collection debuts new poems and includes selections from six previously published collections. "Limón's poetry bears witness to the arc of all we think we know with patient lyricism and and humble wonder." (Publisher)

Review: Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States with good cause. Her poetry is just plain exquisit. I have read several of her collections before but all these poems seemed new and fresh to me. As I was preparing my mind for this review I thought to myself that not one single poem spoke to me louder than the others but the collective whole was very satisfying. I also realized I didn't know if "startlement" was even a word. I've certainly never heard it used in conversation. So I looked it up. 

Startlement (noun)-- as in astonishment; the state of being strongly impressed by something unusual or surprising. Ah! Perfect. That completely describes my experience with this collection of poems -- being impressed by something surprising. It is the rare poetry collection that makes me feel that astonishment and wonder throughout.

This month, April, I am celebrating poetry and hope you feel compelled to do the same. All poetry is not equal and does not appeal to everyone, but this collection gets pretty close to being nearly perfect. For comparison, after completing Startlement I started a poetry collection by a famous actor. My first thought on those poems was, "oh man, Ada Limón he's not." Ha! Choose something you like, or think you'll like and dive in. See if it catches you up in a moment of sheer startlement.

"STARTLEMENT"

It is a forgotten pleasure, the pleasure 

          of the unexpected blue-bellied lizard....

The world says, One type of dream has ended

          and another has just begun.

The world says, Once we were separate,

          and now we must move in unison.

_______________________________________________

-Anne