Mornings Like This : Found Poems

Rating:
Summary: A clever book that pushes the boundaries of poetry
Review: In the introductory author's note to "Mornings Like These: Found Poems," Annie Dillard states of the book, "Excepting only some titles and subtitles, I did not write a word of it." Basically the book consists of "bits of broken text" taken from other authors' prose books and rearranged on the page as poetry. Dillard's sources include "The American Boys Handy Book" (1892), an 1853 maritime conference report, a 1926 junior high school English text, van Gogh's letters, and more.

Dillard admits that half of the poems in this book "are just jokes." Some of them are quite clever and thought-provoking; in some of them she really seems to change the original author's intent. Dillard thus, in a broader sense, makes us question the very nature of the written text and the nature of its relationship to potential readers.

There are some really interesting passages in this book. She mines a stunning section on pain from a prehospital emergency care book. I found the funniest piece to be a "Index of First Lines," from two poetry anthologies. Overall, an intriguing book.

Rating:
Summary: A clever book that pushes the boundaries of poetry
Review: In the introductory author's note to "Mornings Like These: Found Poems," Annie Dillard states of the book, "Excepting only some titles and subtitles, I did not write a word of it." Basically the book consists of "bits of broken text" taken from other authors' prose books and rearranged on the page as poetry. Dillard's sources include "The American Boys Handy Book" (1892), an 1853 maritime conference report, a 1926 junior high school English text, van Gogh's letters, and more.

Dillard admits that half of the poems in this book "are just jokes." Some of them are quite clever and thought-provoking; in some of them she really seems to change the original author's intent. Dillard thus, in a broader sense, makes us question the very nature of the written text and the nature of its relationship to potential readers.

There are some really interesting passages in this book. She mines a stunning section on pain from a prehospital emergency care book. I found the funniest piece to be a "Index of First Lines," from two poetry anthologies. Overall, an intriguing book.

Rating:
Summary: Some intriguing ideas, but seldom do the ideas take hold
Review: This is good poetry, but not excellent. The concept is novel, the themes are universal, but most fail to affect. Either I didn't "get" enough of the works, or there wasn't a lot to "get" in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Some intriguing ideas, but seldom do the ideas take hold
Review: This is good poetry, but not excellent. The concept is novel, the themes are universal, but most fail to affect. Either I didn't "get" enough of the works, or there wasn't a lot to "get" in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Creativity at its best
Review: What a wonderful little book of poems! Whether you are familiar with Dillard or not, familiar with the original lines she "lifted" or not, or familiar with poetry at all, you will truly enjoy this book. Annie has crafted these found poems in ways that suprise and stimulate, mixing the clever and the humorous with the deep and profound. Each one is a treasure to be explored for again and again. Dillard makes these works her own; you can hear her voice through others' words.

Rating:
Summary: Creativity at its best
Review: What a wonderful little book of poems! Whether you are familiar with Dillard or not, familiar with the original lines she "lifted" or not, or familiar with poetry at all, you will truly enjoy this book. Annie has crafted these found poems in ways that suprise and stimulate, mixing the clever and the humorous with the deep and profound. Each one is a treasure to be explored for again and again. Dillard makes these works her own; you can hear her voice through others' words.