Thursday, July 4, 2019

"The Boatloads"


“The Boatloads”
Written by Dan Albergotti
Review written by Diana Iozzia

The Boatloads (New Poets of America Series)
“The Boatloads” is a short collection of modern romantic and religious poetry written by Dan Albergotti, a winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. This writer includes allusions to many films, books, myths, classic literature, and more. The symbolism, metaphors, similes, and personifications take inspiration from those sources, creating new and interesting poetic themes. Personally, I do not often read religious poetry, but I felt that this collection was still adult and serious, with topics such as sex, rape, murder, abuse, aging, and more, rather than only fluffy vignettes about angels.

This was a very interesting collection to read, and I look forward to reading more by this writer. I was thoroughly surprised and yet fulfilled. I enjoyed the voice of this author, one of wisdom and candor about life and death. There is a sweet, melodic flow of the verses, leading most poems to sound like a lullaby. I had chosen this book from a little library, and I am glad to have found it.

Here are the poems I enjoyed most. The ones with asterisks beside them are my favorites.

“Vestibule”
“The Chiming of the Hour” *
“Turning Back” *
“What Everything Could Be”
“Song of the Gods”, “Another Song of the Gods”
“Testimony”
“The Eve of Ever After”
“Moon Daughter”
“Song 378” *
“What Else Means Death” *
“Exeunt”
“The Maenads”
“Lessons of the Elements: Earth” *
“Song 437” *
“The Boatloads”

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