In light of Helena Nelson's request for views on writing and reading poetry reviews (see this link), here are a few reflections on my own attitude towards reviewing in the current climate.
On the one hand, I write reviews not as blurbs or puff pieces but to promote the poetry I love by engaging with it, explaining just why it enthralls me. I try to get my hands dirty with the inner workings of a collection's engine, hoping to enlighten the reader and encourage them to buy the book.
And on the other, I read them to find books I might want to buy. Or to find a new perspective on a collection I've already read. There are certain reviewers whose taste I trust and respect, from whom I learn loads.
One thorny issue I would like to highlight is my growing feeling that social media's tribal pile-ons are making it more and more uncomfortable to write reviews with a critical element. And then this is combined with the trend of poets who view their book as an extension of themselves, as a means of self-expression. Even mild criticism consequently becomes a personal affront...
Kathryn Bevis The big thing, and perhaps most important thing to say this
week is to say Rest in Peace/Poetry, etc to Kathryn Bevis, and of course my
thoug...
Thanks Matthew, and yes, wariness is probably an increasing mood among reviewers, not least because of what you say.
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