Elizabeth Willis

I was SO close to giving this 3 stars- a bump from the last Willis book I read, but ultimately not a ton of praise. Most of the book falls into that category: Willis does a good job playing with language, and the frankenstein nature of this collection provides an interesting separation of style, as though you were watching somebody's highlight reel and stopping a while during each season. However, very few of the poems stood out or attached themselves to me; I didn't see much reason to show more invest more in the work. But I did, I chugged on through, and there were some solid rewards along the way.

What bums this up to 4 stars is the title poem at the end of the book, "Alive". It's a spectacular piece of writing, probably in my top 10 ten poems immediately. Supposedly it was written for a live performance, I'll have to look it up. It's an irregular (but not unheard of) style, connecting little thoughts almost like a disjointed piece of prose. Some of the thoughts seem simple and benign, some are quirky or artsy. But the through-lines between them, the string pulling the poem along, becomes more powerful as you progress. Few poems with that much length have really drawn me in so well and so efficiently. The way that Willis plays with language throughout this book (meaning throughout her career) paid off well in that final poem, which was deserving of titling the book.

All in all, a good book. High peaks and fairly low valleys, but throughout I though it was ok. I would not say this is a book that can be eagerly enjoyed by casual poetry readers, my appreciation of it largely came from my understanding of poetry as a culture and craft. show less

Willis's poem "The Witch" is illustrated line by line by Nancy Bowen. It's gorgeous and provocative. And to add to the interest, Bowen is a descendant of Samuel Sewal, one of the Salem judges who sentenced witches to death. And Willis has a couple ancestors who were accused of, and/or killed for being witches in Maryland around the same time. There is an excellent interview/discussion at the end of the book, as well as a list of resources, and a list of all those who were accused of show more witchcraft in Salem and their fate. show less

An alright collection of poems. Willis is certainly at her best when she is political- Her poem about Katherine Harris, and anything about Witches, were the highlights of the book for me. But not every poem felt as accomplished, especially the ones that weren't so distinctly conceptual. Parts of the book wandered into aimlessness a bit, but eventually it always came back to something powerful and memorable. Worth checking out for poetry fans, but probably not one that will be at the top of show more your list. A handful of poems are worth coming back to again and again. show less