Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems (Pitt Poetry (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a Woman
Review: Denise Duhamel is very much so a woman. Her poems deal with modern day issues of women today, and still have the sound and rhythym that is appealing to the mind. In one collection you can take a trip down memory lane and think back on the nights where you would stay up watching television like "Nick at Nite" or the day you felt beautiful for the first time and felt like you could be completely exposed in front of someone like in "For the One Man Who Likes My Thighs". Women can relate to the pressures of being beautiful and somewhat psychotic efforts we take to get there. She's real.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry?
Review: I could barely get through the book. Duhamel's philosophy seems to be "first word, best word." The poems are without rhythm; no attention has been paid to sound. The poems are simplistic, predictable, and contain subject matter that has been written about by many other poets with greater success. Sadly, the poems, for the most part, are without heart and do not reach for the universal--they are self-indulgent and boring.

Rating:
Summary: Nick at Nite?
Review: Upon reading her poem Nick at Nite, you will understand just why I like Ms. Duhamel's work. It's crass, frank, funny, and altogether moving. The only question I would pose her if I did have the chance is whether her play on the words Nick at Nite was intentional or not. Either way if you enjoy witty poems with a bit of sentimentality to it this book is for you.