Playfully invading the traditional territories of poetry, Sally Van Doren throws into question form, subject matter, and the sound and meaning of w...
read full description
reviews
Jan 06, 2009
Jee
rated it: 
Crested Butte
These are poems about the female body, sex, and sexual politics. They try to be playful and deep, but I find most of them tiring and slight. All of them are written in fourteen lines, but only in a few instances--"Proposition," "Connecticut Sonnet," "Odalisque"--does the form find its justification in the content. The language is an uneasy mixture of registers: slangy, crude, academic, lyrical, archaic. Sometimes, unintentionally funny, as i More...
These are poems about the female body, sex, and sexual politics. They try to be playful and deep, but I find most of them tiring and slight. All of them are written in fourteen lines, but only in a few instances--"Proposition," "Connecticut Sonnet," "Odalisque"--does the form find its justification in the content. The language is an uneasy mixture of registers: slangy, crude, academic, lyrical, archaic. Sometimes, unintentionally funny, as i More...
Oct 22, 2008
Serena
rated it: 
Sex at Noon Taxes by Sally Van Doren arrived in my mailbox from the American Academy of Poets. Van Doren's volume won the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy. I read the title and spent a great deal of time pondering it before I opened the book. Is the sex at noon taxing or is it taxed at noon? There is a play on words here.
The book is broken down into four parts.
Sex at Noon Taxes is the first poem in the book, and the inscription mentions a painting by Ed Ruscha (at righ More...
The book is broken down into four parts.
Sex at Noon Taxes is the first poem in the book, and the inscription mentions a painting by Ed Ruscha (at righ More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 09, 2009
Satia
rated it:
The first part was so overloaded with metaphor that I felt no connection with the content. Although the later pieces are less dense, I didn't find anything truly inspiring. For more:
http://satia.blogspot.com/2009/12/sex-at...
http://satia.blogspot.com/2009/12/sex-at...
Aug 04, 2008
John
rated it:
Yeah...no. Not my thing. There were three, possibly four, poems that I said "yes, that I like." The rest, not so much. I don't know, but I really can't see, out of all the manuscripts submitted, this being the one that caught everyone's eye.
Sep 20, 2008
Matthew
rated it: 
Love the palindromic title poem and exploration/explosion/dissection of the 14-line sonnet form. Some faves "To Become World," "Seventeen," "Preposition," "Conjunction," and "Pronoun/Punctuation."
Aug 07, 2008
Tim
rated it:
These were smart, compact poems. At times deeply sensual and also humorous. I would definitely read more by this author. Every poem was a joy to read.
Jul 17, 2008
Laurie
rated it:
Not really my style, but I have to give points for the skillful use of language and the musicality of these poems. I would love to hear her read them.
Mar 22, 2011
Jonathan
rated it: 
It's not that they were bad. I was expecting more. More art and more word play.
Nov 12, 2011
Oct 28, 2010
Apr 25, 2010
Oct 10, 2011
Jun 18, 2009
Apr 26, 2009
Mar 28, 2009
