7 March 2012

The Control Room or the Demands of Heather

Hollis Jay, poet and author, graduated with both her BA in English and American Literature and her MFA in Creative Writing specialising in fiction. She is continuing with her educational goals and is currently working on her MA in English focusing in the Gothic.  She plans on also eventually receiving her PhD specialising in Gothic Literature. She is working as an intern for Magic Cat Press who so thoughtfully provided me with this collection of her poems for review.

I have to say that the meaning of the title eludes me but the 92 poems in this collection were a pleasure to read. Some of them are cute and fun - like the one I will share with you soon - and others were darker. Ms Jay seems to prefer free verse which works for me. I do not hold to the notion that a poem must rhyme or follow some pattern of syllables to be enjoyable or worthwhile.

The format of the book took me by surprise. It looks like a the collections of classroom work that I used to bring home from grade school. Surely these poems deserve better. A few illustrations or a smaller size page would have gone a long way toward showing these gems off to greater advantage.

From page 31:

Old Man Stew
by Hollis Jay

Old man stew
Smells of Ben gay
Strong cologne
And old used soap
Those small squares
That usually float down the shower drain
With flaky and dried hair
With turtle pellets
With the remnants of ear wax
And small particles
Of used slime


Copies of this book are available for purchase here

10 comments:

  1. Not exactly my kind of poetry

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  2. Poems like the one you shared make me smile. I don't even know if that's the reaction I'm supposed to have but...yeah.

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    1. I smiled too. Reminded me of my grandpa.

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  3. Thank you!!!

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  4. Reminded me of Dad, great job Hollis!!! Mom H.

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  5. Having read quite a bit of Hollis' poetry and writings, I have to say that even this one shown does not show her range, though it does show her sense of humor. Hollis has some beautifully written poems, and is very imaginative in her prose and storytelling skills--keep it up Hollis.

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    1. I agree. I would have iked to share the whole book. I just chose this one because it is my favorite.

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  6. Thank you all very much!!!

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  7. I would love for you to review my next book "The Ever" when it comes out at the end of March...;)

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    1. Check my review policy page and e-mail me. I'll see what I can do.

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Here's your chance to voice your opinion. We all have them. I'd love to hear yours. I try to respond to all comments so please check back if you are interested in that.