Almost all of my poetry reviews begin the same way: with me expressing that I don’t know how to review poetry. With that in mind, I’m going to keep this review pretty brief, because I don’t think I have much to add to the conversation. As a personal preference, I usually enjoy poetry that is fairly straightforward. Very symbolic poetry tends to lead me confused. This Is What Happened In Our Other Life is a poetry collection that leans more towards that second category. It is less accessible than the poetry books I read right before it: When I Was Straight by Julie Marie Wade.
The poems in this collection felt like they slipped out of my grasp as I read them. I felt like I could almost, but not quite, understand what was happening, like they were vague hints that I wasn’t able to link. Take the opening paragraph of “Monday In April”:
All your lovers come to you in April,
or you to them.
Spring offerings, rain and rhododendron.
Later, the smell of smoke.
The poem I liked the most is not surprisingly the one that is more literal: “Transitions”, which describes a moment after a breakup that feels visceral. I don’t doubt that Obejas is a skilled poet, but this collection was clearly not one for me. If you do enjoy more symbolic poetry with sparse, beautiful language, you probably would enjoy this one.
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caseythecanadianlesbrarian says
What I always try and (often fail at) doing with this kind of poetry is try to let go of the impulse to “understand” everything and just try to enjoy the images and how things sound.
Danika @ The Lesbrary says
That makes sense. I think I probably just need more practice reading poetry.
caseythecanadianlesbrarian says
Also, have you read Memory Mambo by this author? It’s soooo good! And fiction, not poetry! (:
Danika @ The Lesbrary says
I haven’t, yet! It’s on my list. I could’ve sworn that I owned it, but I can’t seem to find it. Either way, I’ll definitely give it a shot!