Reading books by someone who you (sort of) know always raises the stakes for me. You feel obligated to pay just a bit more attention to what they are saying, and make extra efforts to understand their opinions. Maybe for a book by an author you don’t know it is easier to dismiss things you don’t immediately understand or agree with. But I feel like I should at least put in a bit more effort to try to get things when there is a chance that someday I might come face to face with the author and have to give me opinion of their work.
This book is a collection of poetry by the daughter of one of my elementary school principals – someone who also grew up in Sonoma Valley and went to some of the same schools I did. Her work contains people and places that I am familiar with, which makes it more interesting to read.
I don’t read a lot of poetry (like almost none) but even by my rookie evaluation the author has some serious talent, and the book is full of lines that really spoke truth to me. I envy her the chance to really sit around and think about the world around her – processing the emotions and the episodes that make up your life and affect those around you. When you are caught up in a daily work grind like most people in the world, it is harder to have the time to do that. Professional poets have a rare opportunity – she doesn’t waste it in this book.
I read this book over one year, reading her seasonal sections during the season of 2024. It took a year to get through a short book, but I’m glad I did it that way as it allowed more time to reflect on each section.
It was an excellent collection – I hope that she’ll be able to continue to build on this in the future.
