Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Links: Amazon • TBD • Goodreads
Publication Date: July 29, 2017
Source: Borrowed
In case you hadn’t noticed, I went from reading no poetry over the course of my life to reading a ton of poetry in 2018. I’m not sure what happened, really, other than I started using my library a lot more and I have made more bookish friends. Anyway, Gerry recommended that I read this, not in a “wow, I really loved it” way but more in a “hmm, I didn’t like it and I think you won’t like it either but I’d like to hear your thoughts” kind of way. In other words, I was basically advised to hate-read this, and if that’s not my favorite, I don’t know what is. Thank god this was free via the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
Anyway, I decided that the best way to review this collection is to just type whatever comes to mind while reading, so here you go. My more-or-less linear thoughts while reading Burn the Fairy Tales.
Some sections of some poems are okay:
you
were whole before himyou
are still whole without himdo not
define yourself by himdefine yourself by yourself
— whole
But also some have grammatical errors and holy hell, if that doesn’t drive me crazy:
[…]
let me peak
into the depths of your soul[…]
— depths
(A “peak” is a high point, like the top of a mountain. A “peek” is a glimpse, a look, a view.)
Some non-poems (remember, sentences with line breaks aren’t poetry):
if a man
has sex
with a woman who isunconscious
drugged
drunk
or doesn’t
actively consentit’s rape
end of story— sex part 2
(I appreciate the sentiment but this is a sentence, not a poem.)
if he apologizes but doesn’t change the apology
means nothing— sorry
Again, this is true, but it’s literally just a sentence with one line break, I don’t understand how this is poetry.
every
tiny detail about you
is beautiful— beautiful
And yet again, this is just! a! sentence! with! line! breaks!
And now I feel really awkward because I am hating this book and I just got to this poem:
i don’t want
to keep putting in hours for someone elsei want
this book
to sell well
and i want
to live my life
in financial freedomso please
post about this book tell your friends leave reviewsthis
is my future on the lineand it
is in
your hands— independent
😬😬😬
Another non-poem:
not everything you lose is a loss
— loss
(This one doesn’t even have a line break??)
Oh, it’s done. I mean, I’m not like a poetry connoisseur or anything, but I feel like this wasn’t good. It’s also really weirdly formatted, which shouldn’t really figure into my rating, but it does. The title of the next poem was often smashed into the last line of the previous poem, which was just weird and confusing.
It’s definitely got the same vibes as the two collections I read by Amanda Lovelace: it’s a little angrier than the princess saves herself in this one and not quite at the anger level of the witch doesn’t burn in this one. I think Amanda Lovelace’s poetry is more poetic than this, which is mostly just sentences with line breaks.
I’m glad I didn’t pay for this.
Have you read Burn the Fairy Tales?
Let’s talk in the comments!
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Yikes!
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Yikes is right! 😬
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Just curious to know….. do you think ….Intentional/unintentional grammatical errors from the author of the book, or grammatical errors from the Kindle version? I am not intrigued by this book and its feminist self -empowerment message. You can promote self-empowerment in so many different ways, without using cliches’…and this book is loaded with cliches’….
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I’d guess the errors are from the author, but it’s hard to say for sure. I’m all for feminism and self-empowerment, but I was (clearly) not a fan of this book.
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Maybe, what you do not like is her attempt to disguise random sentences as free verse poetry. I get that she wanted to focus on words, rather than on structure….but…I don’t think she did a great work with that. 🙂
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*job
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That’s exactly
What I didn’t like
About this collection.
Anybody can write
Sentences with line breaks
That doesn’t make it
Poetry.
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I agree!
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i think
that this
review
is awesome
–awesome
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this is
my favorite comment
in a very long time
– thank you
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Do you know of any good poetry collections because I’d like to get into the genre but all of the most popular ones seem… yikes.
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Inside Out & Back Again by Lai and Out of the Dust by Hesse are two of my fav. books written in free verse. The books are intended for K-12, but adults should also read them. I fell in love with free verse poetry because of these two books.
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Thanks for the rec these are going on my tbr!
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I personally don’t know of any really good poetry collections! But I can tell you that I’ve been recommended to read Charles Bukowski and Elizabeth Bishop!
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“If a man has sex with a woman, who is unconscious, drugged, drunk or doesn’t actively consent, it’s rape. End of story.” – That is in no way a poem. I would be very frustrated with this book! lol.
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If you could have seen me while I was reading this… I was just sitting on my couch muttering to myself. “Not a poem. Not a poem. Still not a poem. This is just a sentence. OH MY GOD, NOT A POEM.”
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Haha!! Yeah, that’s pretty strange. I don’t blame you!
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Hahaha! Oh dear! I feel guilty that I sort of made you read it but at the same time I am very pleased to share some hate-reading!
You know I’d completely forgotten about that awful ‘poem’ in the middle where she is trying to get people to buy her books and spread the word about her books because she doesn’t want to do her current job anymore. It’s just…. I have no words. It’s appalling.
I want to read some more of Nikita Gill’s poems because I quite like what she has done so far. I think this is what Adeline Whitmore has *tried* to do but it just isn’t poetry.
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Oh no! Don’t feel guilty! I’m happy to hate-read whenever, as long as I know what I’m getting myself into. 🙂
And that poem in the middle! I almost felt bad for a minute but then I didn’t. I haven’t read anything by Nikita Gill, but I’ll check her out!
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Hmm it’s possible ‘peak’ could be a clever pun, because peak can be used as a verb… but yeah, more likely it’s a typo 😉
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Maybe we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt… but maybe not.
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