For every flare that faded out, another one lit up
The Sky will Hold is a book of survival, of second chances, of recovery and new beginnings. In this, her third full-length collection, Elizabeth Hazen explores loss and renewal, addiction and sobriety, the joys and difficulties of marriage and mothering. Many of these poems embody the mixed—even contradictory—emotions inevitably experienced in growing through life and navigating its changes.
“You forget I can regrow my fangs, charmer”
The vagaries of love—romantic, sexual, or platonic—are an eternal theme for poetry, but Katherine Gekker manages to bring fresh observations to the subject in her second collection, O My Charmer. By turns witty and angry, contented and fearful, the poems in this book are compelling as they chart various phases of a sometimes turbulent relationship. It’s good to have new work from this fine poet.
Poems of the Unexpected—and the Struggle to Connect
Two words I’d use to describe the poems in this collection—their language and imagery—are muscular and unexpected. By muscular I mean the words and images aren’t just substantial, they flex and push against you as you read; a reader feels pulled into grappling with them. Unexpected images and metaphors—that sometimes don’t initially seem to fit the tone—and unusual words surface a lot. This makes the reading experience satisfying work. It doesn’t shut the reader out, but demands something from them.