Best Poetry Reads—October 2018
The Concept of Best Reads
As a writer, I realise how important the reader is. This year, I started posting book reviews on my blog (apart from Goodreads), to support the authors. However, as a poet, I realised that these were primarily reviews of fictional novels.
In the past couple of months, I have been reading online journals more frequently. Some of the poems and short stories that I read were magnificent, and it felt a shame to read them once and let them sit in the browser's history until one day, that also vanishes. Halfway through October, I realised that tweeting about these poems was only a minor thing I could do, so I started bookmarking some of my favourite reads (i.e. subjective opinion), and in monthly posts, I'll be sharing their links (it wouldn't be adequate to copy-paste other people's work on here, right?)
Since this is the first month I'm attempting this and started out late, I have only three pieces to share.
Poem #1: Dreams of Mississippi Burning by Kalvin Marquiz
My favourite poem was Dreams of Mississippi Burning by Kalvin Marquiz, featured in The Adroit Journal. I get goosebumps each time I listen/read the poem.
It's also a piece which I feel any comment I make cannot capture any of its essence accurately. It's profound throughout, starting with the miscarriages of his mother and delving into being her queer son, and—just read it.
Poem #2: Cryptophasia by Todd Dillard
Cryptophasia was published in issue 4 of Longleaf Review. The title word refers to the cryptic or secret speech between two twins, and that's what this poem is about. Todd is clever and uses language subtly to convey the profound relationships they had with their parents. Again, poetry is difficult to bring to words, so I just urge you to read this piece rather let me ramble.
Poem #3: The Cold Bench by Alisha N. Wright
I am subscribed to Rattle's newsletter, in which once a day, a poem is sent to my inbox. One of the works they frequently share is part of their Young Poets Anthology, featuring various young writers. The Cold Bench particularly touched me, especially considering how natural the sense of loneliness is portrayed by a 10-year-old. These youngsters have real talent.
Reader's Appreciation
I hope you enjoyed this post and reading the poems I have linked. Both as readers and writers, one thing we have easy access to is the internet, and it only costs us a little time to show appreciation to artists for what the experience they provide us. I urge any avid reader to write book reviews or share their favourite journals/books onto their social media and spread the word.
Other Links:
Kalvin's twitter: Kalvin Marquiz
Todd's twitter: Todd Dillard
Own publications: Jeremy Mifsud
Header Image: Rawpixel on Unsplash