Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a sucker for anything love related (I’m a cancer), love poems, love movies, love songs, valentines day. So when I read oceanic there were so many moments that I felt an affinity with the speaker. Aimee seems to have a few muses in the book such as the ocean, sea creatures, sea plants, cities, countries, her sons and her husband. I thought the one star review of the Taj Mahal found poem was hilarious, you can tell which lines were from western folks. I’ve been to the Taj Mahal and I was dumbfounded by its great beauty and energy, I think that’s why I found the one star reviews hilarious and how people may see something so differently. I also saw the one star reviews of The great wall and wonder what one’s perspective is on that because I have not been to the great wall of china.
There were so many little moments of tenderness that I thought were really sweet, like “When I read him the lyrics, the pink of my cheeks is like the pink of an orchid mantis” (16). Or “One billion years: one ocean born. The time it takes for the last waxy smudge of me to stop loving you” (22). And “what I call my husband is unprintable. You’re welcome” (63). I thought the last one was funny. There were plenty of tender, funny moments in this book like the one star reviews, playful flirtations towards her partner and images of food and sea life.
I also like that this book took me on several journey’s from America to India to Switzerland to the Philippines and of course the ocean. I think the imagery of the book matches the cover perfectly. It is serene, calm and you feel almost like the starfish floating as as the narrators paints images of love, sea, tenderness and familial love.
Hi Amber! It was so refreshing and comforting to read poems that held love in the palm of their hand. I was reflecting on Nezhukumatathil's work and style in this collection, and it really strikes me how she not only writes about love and tenderness, but she does it so specifically and in a voice so distinctive to her. No one else can write about the Northern Lights and grainy bathroom soap cakes in the same poem. I mean, she's just wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first poetry collection we've read on the syllabus where a "you" is a character throughout the text. The relationship is a full story with beginnings, rocky middles, and ends (looking back at relationship). I found many poems to be sweet, and then as a result, the destruction of relationships stung me hard. I really, really latched onto the beauty this week and wanted to bathe in the tenderness of her words, and how she expresses love.
Hey Amber,
ReplyDeleteI also felt like the one star review poems held a lot of cultural commentary on the 'wonders' that are out there that are taken for granted. I think one of those 'wonders' is love. Aimee does also do an amazing job of talking about relationship love I felt, and I was enthralled by those poems as well.
Amber, I also am a sucker for anything love related! (but I am a leo lol). I was hoping someone would say something about this so I am so happy you did! It felt like reading a love story with short pauses all in between. I particularly enjoyed "Sugar" as it was so pure and the love story we all needed! I agree on the adventures of this book, we were truly on a ride with so many emotions.
ReplyDeleteYou evoked great commentary and gave folks some space to say me too, i'm a sucker too
ReplyDelete