James Galvin

This is the first collection I've read from Galvin, but unfortunately, I think it will also probably be my last. While there's some lovely language and imagery here, it feels like a majority of the poems prioritize "sound" over "sense", and while further read-throughs might make them more clearer, there's nothing there really pulling me to put the work in. In other cases, the poems here are perfectly clear, but just not particularly striking. In a few cases, I started out truly enjoying a piece, only to find that the ending fell so flat as to mostly ruin it for me. And in other cases, even where form is clearly in play, it feels like the poems are nothing more than broken up prose, and the truth is that I didn't feel much engagement or emotional impact at any point in the collection.

Not one I'd recommend, I'm afraid.… (more)