A new collection by the much praised poet whose second book THE DEAD AND THE LIVING, was both the Lamont Poetry Selection for 1983 and winner of th...
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reviews
Aug 25, 2010
Jamie
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I think "The Gold Cell" rests more comfortably in the 3.5 star space, but alas. Is this a great volume? Not to my mind. It is a quite good one, very solid in places, and stunning in a few. The thing is, just as it shines brightly in some moments, it falls entirely dull at others. I found the section on her father (the second?) to be particularly trying to work through. The book is broken into four parts: one outside of the biographical (?) narrator's vantage point; one directed
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Nov 16, 2011
Bethany
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I appreciate that Olds uses material from her life to make a beautiful poem. at times I find the sexual language to be a little too much, though. also at times i feel like the language could be a little more original or she could stray from her comfort zone to discover a different structure or tone, but if she did, she wouldn't be her. there are poets who stick to one mode and it works for them and that's what they are known for. and there are poets who differ so greatly in various poems that yo
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Feb 06, 2011
Kelsey
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Olds does a beautiful job falling between personal experience and generally relatable events. The Gold Cell is broken down into 4 different sections, each with its own personality. A personal favorite of mine is "I go back to May 1937." This poem intensifies a relationship of a girl looking at a photograph and her parents. She writes wishing they would have never gotten married, but quickly retracts with thanking her chance for life. Most of the book portrays a broken family and the
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Feb 07, 2011
Bryan
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Vulgar, brutal, disturbing, and harrowing images are words I would use to describe Sharon Olds collection of poems "The Gold Cell." And yet I found it to be incredible. Every Poem is injected with real situations and emotions. While some of the subject matters are not pretty the way that Olds showcases it is brilliant. As a reader I have to appreciate the no holds barred approach that Olds displays as it is so difficult to find in poetry nowadays. Sometimes the “no fear’ approach makes
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Aug 11, 2008
Paula
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Brilliant but tough to read because the subject matter is so personal; it's borderline confessional poetry. Then again, Olds is known for her frank, raw imagery.
This particular volume of poetry is divided into four sections that roughly correspond to four stages of her life: pre-birth/relationship between her parents, childhood/relationship with her parents, adolescence/relationships outside her family, and adulthood/motherhood. Not all of the poems are about Olds, though, and those More...
This particular volume of poetry is divided into four sections that roughly correspond to four stages of her life: pre-birth/relationship between her parents, childhood/relationship with her parents, adolescence/relationships outside her family, and adulthood/motherhood. Not all of the poems are about Olds, though, and those More...
Jan 20, 2008
W.B.
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There are always good poems in an Olds collection. There are always cringeworthy poems in an Olds collection. That much said, the books are usually worth owning. I love the one in here written to the pope's penis, and the one about the man with his half-formed brother growing out of his chest. The visceral--and horror stories from the news (addressed in a punchy style) seem to be her two favorite themes and are her strong suits. Focusing on the Freudian family is her default mode when the Furies
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Jun 01, 2008
E
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The first time I read this collection of poems, I was shocked out of my socks, and it felt good. The ways that family torments and saves - sometimes simultaneously - is a recurrent feature. Metaphors that strike home. Sometimes, you might feel after finishing one of her poems about family that your stomach has flipped inside-out and left you holding all the gross, gooey parts in your hands. Then, the moments of self-cleansing, self-clarification, and epiphany fall into place, and you're glad you
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Dec 14, 2010
kpb
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there was a girl in my poetry workshop years ago who wrote exactly like olds (minus the awkward references to a man's penis as his "sex") and i was so seethingly, silently jealous of her
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Jan 05, 2011
Lucy
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A collection of poetry some of which is very earthy and some humorous. I truly enjoyed the poetry in the last and fourth section of this book.
Oct 23, 2009
Lauren
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The last time I read this book I was 17; reading it as an adult has been a wildly different experience. Some of my favorite Sharon Olds.
Sep 25, 2007
this is one of those books that was pure magic. i went to te bookstore with no spefic wish in mind. I picked up this book opened to a page. "for my father" the title, the date June 24th. Connection? My grandmother born on that very day gave birth to my father, who was then described in that poems words....
with other poems such as "after 24(?) years my mother apologizes for my childhhod" and the story of "blue dress" to comic relief "pope's penis More...
with other poems such as "after 24(?) years my mother apologizes for my childhhod" and the story of "blue dress" to comic relief "pope's penis More...
Jul 24, 2010
Michael
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The poems bring me to shivers and tears every time. Every time. I'm not aloud to read them in public.
Jun 18, 2011
William
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Summer Soltace New York City may have been the first real contemporary poem I read. Coming across it, I was moved by the way the poem began and took a life on of it's own and moved at a pace that was cinematic. The ending of the poem, where Olds tries to take us back to something profound - the discovery of fire seemed appropriate in the context of her work and made the poem perfectly profound.
This collection is probably one of Olds' best...great book. Recommended to fans of con More...
This collection is probably one of Olds' best...great book. Recommended to fans of con More...
Apr 21, 2009
Emily
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She gets pretty graphic but all in all really well written and blows past any taboos about sexuality/abuse you may have.
Sep 03, 2011
Rose
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Sharon Olds being Sharon Olds. Sometimes you want to shake your head and say, really? But other times you are transported. Least favorite collection of Olds so far. But there is much to admire.
Jul 24, 2008
Ned
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I guess I'm on a poetry kick. I couldn't really decide how to rate this book because half of the poems are brilliant and half of them kinda suck. So I gave it 4 stars based on the really good ones. There are two specific poems that really stick out in my mind. One is about a young love that dies (literally) and the other is about her kids. Now that I am a mother the kids ones really affect me. I get it now.
Dec 17, 2009
Jerome
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Wow. What can I say? Sharon Olds is the headmistress. Direct, intimate, personal, honest. She's one of my favourite American poets. She's kind of mellowed out over the years and The Gold Cell sees her poetry maturing into parenthood, with all its concerns, but what's great is that she doesn't push it away though she eyes it warily. And, really, how can you beat a poem like The Pope's Penis? LOL.
Aug 02, 2007
Kate
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Champaign, Illinois, spring 1998. My favorite modern poet. and what a sense of humor. i tear up every time i hear "i go back to may..." and laugh at "the pope's penis." her refusal to accept that the minutia of her life as a mother is any less important or artistic than the death of a lover or the beginning of spring give me hope for a kind of female poetry that is just beginning.
Feb 20, 2008
Hannah
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As mandatory reading for Freshman Wrting in school, I was highly suspicious of this book, not really liking poetry in general, however the way Sharon Olds writes can really get under my skin (in a good way) and in this collection in particular, she writes a haunting series about a boyfriend she had as an undergrad at Harvard that has always stuck with me.
Jan 30, 2008
Heather
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i love sharon olds. she tells women's secrets and tells them well. her poems are alternately stirring, disgusting, mesmerizing, elating and humorous. she casually breaks taboos and treasures inimacies we don't dare admit to in public. she share shame and vengence and gratitude in a way that makes you feel empowered by the admission rather than diminished by it.
Oct 21, 2008
Amy
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This was the first book I read by Olds on the recommendation of my advisor Jimmy-Jim-Jim McGarrah. I was absolutley blown away...blown away I said! I have read this book so many times I can't even give you a number. I want to meet her...not stalk her, just meet her.
Oct 18, 2007
Sabrina
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Fantastic poems. "Late Poem to my Father" is the kind of poem that will stick with you for a long time to come, leaving certain words and phrases permanently etched in your brain, but you really dont' mind, ya' know?
Aug 02, 2007
Donnie
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This was my first attempt to read Olds. I will revisit it. It was a weird experience because I really really like every third or fourth poem, but than there were many I just wanted to end as soon as I began them.
Jan 10, 2008
Laura
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I enjoyed this, and I learned a lot from it. Sharon Olds has a way of ending a poem that is simply brilliant. I've gotta say, though, some of her poems in this volume made me cringe. Enough said.
