I’ve read a number of poetry collections lately but they’ve all dealt with different themes. Here’s a really thought-provoking one that certainly inspires strong emotions:
Disinheritance by John Sibley Williams
Genre: PoetryA lyrical, philosophical, and tender exploration of the various voices of grief, including those of the broken, the healing, the son-become-father, and the dead, Disinheritance acknowledges loss while celebrating the uncertainty of a world in constant revision. From the concrete consequences of each human gesture to soulful interrogations into “this amalgam of real / and fabled light,” these poems inhabit an unsteady betweenness, where ghosts can be more real than the flesh and blood of one’s own hands.
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With a theme like grief, you know to expect some pretty hard-hitting messages and this poet proves he’s more than capable of handling this topic. This collection is really powerful and evocative, and each poem has something important to say. If you’ve had personal experiences with grief as I’m sure many people have, it may be tough reading some of these poems but I think the poet does a really great job in discussing these feelings.
A few of my favourites that really struck a chord were Postpartum, Alight, and Teething. Some weren’t to my taste, especially those that were more disturbing, but I did enjoy reading each one. I especially enjoyed reading the titles of each poem, as many of them had a clear connection to the main theme even from this first “line”, like A Dead Boy Distinguishes Proximal from Distal, Bone River, and Preparations Have Been Made. Obviously the poet has a lot of creativity at his disposal.
