“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.
