Marilyn Hacker

Marilyn Hacker is a distinguished American poet whose work I had not previously read. Contrary to my perception of her as a “difficult” poet, and though many of the poems in this collection are long, I found them to be moving, engaging, beautifully written and full of meaning. There is a sureness of voice which I enjoyed, but without the dogmatism that can be its shadow. These poems were a very pleasant surprise to me, and are worth the attention of any poetry lover.

I don't know how to review this. The strict form and conceit reminded me of my friend Roz Karen's poems, which also use strict form and meter to do dazzling things with language and also consider the poet as resister. Some of the lines were remarkably beautiful, too.

Recommended by my BFF.

Sapphic poems about a relationship - there was a narrative to the poems - they felt like linear sonnets about the course of the relationship. Almost diary-esque. For me it became repetitive and I felt like there didn’t need to be so many poems. (Sex is mentioned a lot)
Wasn’t for me overall but I can see why my friend loves it.

This sonnet sequence is one of my favorites. I read it as part of a undergrad independent study when I was writing my first sonnet sequence, and I found it inspiring and beautiful. I'm currently working on my third collection of sonnets, and I occasionally reread some of Marilyn Hacker's poems when I'm trying to attract my muse.