One Stick Song

I adore Alexie's The Summer of Black Widows, but although this is a slightly more recent collection, it didn't come close to the level of that collection. Here, one of my favorite moments was actually more of an essay than a poem, and on baseball of all things (which I say in surprise since I have zero interest in the sport), whereas the poems felt preoccupied by sex and relationships often presented in the crudest way possible, and repetition often felt like more of a crutch than a tool. I did love the final poetry sequence in the book--one more focused on family and legacy than on sex/sexual relationships or race, unlike many of the others, but it was a rare standout for me. I should emphasize that these themes don't bother me and show more I've often fallen in love with collections that put them front and center, but here the theme just didn't work for me, or perhaps just felt too crude, with many of the poems feeling less poetic than I expected from Alexie. Not a lot of language play, not a lot of gorgeous moments worth rereading, and not a lot of moments that made me stop and catch my breath as I reread a stanza, as happens with the best collections.

I've so loved his other poems, I still look forward to reading more, but I have to admit this collection was a bit of a disappointment. show less

Most of the time I find poetry utter garbage. However, a couple of Alexie's poems are profound in a One Stick Song. Like the "every time I venture into the bookstore."