Reader, it's our first literature review!

Hey guys, it's Ashleigh, the Commuter Committee's resident English major, and this is the beginning of what is going to be a monthly series of literature reviews (not the Dr. Senecal kind though). We'll be looking at books, poems, and perhaps some plays that I hope you guys will enjoy! To give you guys an idea of what type of stuff I'll be reviewing, I like to read literary fiction, classic literature, poetry, Asian American and ethnic literature in general (you'll never guess the reasons why for those two), and occasionally young adult novels. If you like these genres or even just have a vague interest in them but never gotten around to actually reading those types of books, then I hope you tune in to the Dorm-less Diary every month with me.

To start off this series, we're going to be looking at one of my absolute favorite books, Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Nez-hoo-koo-muh-TAH-til). Aimee is a South Asian and Filipina poet and professor whose work in this collection often explores the beauty of nature as well as loves good and bad, motherhood, and identity. 

 

Did I take this picture on my aging iPad? Yes. Did I have to kneel on the floor for this to look half decent? Yes. Can you see the pain in my eyes? Also yes.

Now, I know a lot of people do not enjoy poetry at all. Perhaps you might be one of those people: someone who's tired of being required to read Shakespeare and who struggles to wade through all the murky metaphors and symbolism that make poetry sometimes frustrating to read. To you, exhausted reader, I would recommend Aimee's work even more. Aimee has somewhat of a conversational style with her poetry; it reads like a friend is speaking to you. What's more, her poetry often uses images most people are familiar with: manicures, whales, gardens, silos, blue-furred dogs. She then turns these objects into things of beauty with her stunning, yet still readable, lyricism. You're not going to be adrift with her poems; they are grounded, yet gorgeous.

That's not to say that her work doesn't have things like metaphors or symbolism, or that you won't sometimes be scratching your head and wondering what a poem means. With Aimee's poems, though, the hard stuff isn't unapproachable, and what's more, it can be fun or even lovely.

That being said, I'll leave you with some of my favorite poems from this collection: "This Sugar," "Summer Haibun" (a haibun is a Japanese form of poetry that starts with a prose poem and ends with a haiku), and "Meals of Grief and Happiness" (scroll down to read that one specifically). I hope you guys enjoy these as much as I do. If you like what you see, you can also access a full copy of Oceanic online with the Shippensburg Library.

If you liked this recommendation, comment below to let me know or just say hi! Happy reading y'all, and I'll see you guys with another review next month!