Dana Chiueh, your poems are so soulful.
"Listening to the world take each fragile breath" is a striking verse,
& fallibility of memories is an all-around artistic, rhythmic and earthy piece.
Anna Chen, what a bubbly, tacit confusion, or, rather, portrayal.
Coco Huang, the first and last stanzas were beautifully illustrated.
Nikki Velletri, what a flamboyant feather.
I still am in awe when reading Immortalized in Contrapposto, it is brutally honest in an artfully dramatic manner, Landscape Aflame, which is ferric in all the ways a dream should be.
Maia Siegel, I am honestly a fan, of your work, of your technique, of the themes you depict.
"We play clockwise games in which we try to hide our love of others' secrets" gives a hint at how deep you delve, and to do so is oh so appreciated.
Ella Spungen, your piece has it's own rhythm, it almost is too predictable, and that's your poem's strenght, and beauty.
"knee-deep in august, / by the harbor."
I don't know why that phrase struck me, but it did. It's gorgeous. From "overexposure" by Dana Chieuh.
"Life doesn't exist / unless we command it to the surface"
From "Somewhere in Louisiana" by Nikki Velletri. If I could be in love with an abstract phrase, this one would be it.
"In December, the dust crept into my lungs / and I tried to catch the plane back to July--"
I love these two lines, and not just because it's cold out. They're brilliant.
You're not a second reader for nothing! (:
they all make me wish polyphony lit was around when I was a kid.
Mai, I like how you have so much you want to say about the pieces that you can't fit it all in one post. I know I certainly can't limit myself to only naming a few that stood out, because there are so many gems awaiting readers in this volume.
Like you, I'm really fascinated by Maia Seigel's poems, and her distinct style that comes across in all of them. In particular, I'd like to give a nod to two of Maia's poems that might not have gotten as much attention. "At the Cat Show in the Valley View Holiday Inn" is amazing, because the speaker's detached tone forces readers to face all the very emotional things described in the poem and reconsider their views of perfection. Likewise, "I Don't Care What Scientific American Says" has this signature juxtaposition of the heartfelt and the clinical.
Also, keep finding myself drawn to "Summertime Poems." It's so humble, so self-aware. One would think that a piece listing and categorizing a bunch of poems wouldn't be very fun to read, but Max Paik's piece keeps you riveted.