"The Suicide"

“The Suicide”

Written by Amy Tollyfield

Review written by Diana Iozzia

           

            Poetry is always a fickle read for me. At this point in my reading experience, I have concluded that sadder, angrier, and darker poetry can be a fantastic read for me, or something I would like to avoid like the plague. Sometimes, I draw a line straight down the middle.

            With “The Suicide” I found poems I enjoyed, but I also found poems that were just not the right style for me. Some of Tollyfield’s poems are similar to Silvia Plath, whose poems and prose I have always enjoyed. Quite a few of the poems also reminded me of the book, “Girl, Interrupted” as well as Plath’s “The Bell Jar”.

            Amy Tollyfield’s poetry is full of similes, metaphors, and allusions. I do like a great allusion, but some of the mentions seemed necessary only to complete the rhyme couplet, as the typical style is 1212 or 12 32. For example, I thought rhyming “Pocahontas” with “orthodontist” was a bit of a stretch. I remember my younger adolescent years when I used a rhyming dictionary and came up with similar rhymes. To continue, I also enjoyed Tollyfield’s use of different colors to describe actions, emotions, and more.

            I personally felt that the majority of the poems in this collection were not for me. I enjoyed reading the collection, but I do think poetry is very subjective. The poems I enjoyed most are:

“Ask”

“Rosé”

“Big Sea”

“Dice”

“Johanna”

“Tide”

Courtesy of Olympia Publishing, I received a complimentary copy of this book for reading and reviewing purposes.