Saturday, May 7, 2016

Face --by Sherman Alexie

Poetry 

160 pages
5 Stars

It has been many years since I've found a book of Alexi's poetry, and when I found this I grabbed it. I was not disappointed. I was ecstatic.

Alexie shows no fear when he writes. He isn't afraid to experiment with words or with form. He not only combines prose with his poetry (poetry with his prose?), he has even found a way to use footnotes! At first, I was disconcerted with this, but as I read, I realized he had written poems within poem! Stunningly brilliant. (It reminds me of the old Choose Your Own Adventure series I bought my kids.)

I suggest you read the book before giving it to a child, no matter how precocious she might be, and be prepared to discuss whatever poems might come up in conversation, or you might be blindsided.

Alexie writes poetry for the people, not the "intelligentsia," all of his poetry is accessible, and in this book, he even explains a bit about how he writes. This collection is personal; it's about fathers and sons—his father, he as father, his sons, all fathers, all sons. There will be sadness and perhaps tears. There will also be light and laughter, especially when his wife enters the poem.


I hope we do not need to wait so long for the next collection.

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