Seeing Birds in Church Is a Kind of Adieu
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Seeing Birds in Church Is a Kind of Adieu
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4.7 of 5 stars

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Feb 26, 2011
Toni rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I've been reading Arlene Ang's poems for a long time in numerous online journals, but this is the first collection I've read (her fifth!). It certainly won't be the last.

I admire this book for many reasons, not least the startling freshness of image and metaphor. Some have called Ang's poems surreal. They don't see surreal to me anymore. Just beautiful. I was especially drawn to the Sonnenizios, but perhaps my favorite poem is "In Memoriam." It's hard to single out any one, More...
1 comment like (1 person liked it)
Jun 25, 2011
Kristine rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I've always enjoyed Arlene's work and her trademark quirkiness. Although highly moving, this collection is somber--like the voice of someone that has sobered up. Writers do evolve, I guess.
1 comment like (1 person liked it)
Jun 25, 2010
S. rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Seeing Birds in Church is a Kind of Adieu deals chiefly with death and loss and bereavement. Some of the poems seem to set out to be playful or simply surreal but at some point in each one - if not from the get-go - you're reading about loss, which is no fun at all. Still, Ang has an imagination that gives her poetry great appeal despite its sometimes heavy burden.

In most cases, the death/loss poems have to do with the death and/or dying of the mother, although sometimes it's someon More...
1 comment like (2 people liked it)
May 03, 2010
Jayne rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This is a fresh and remarkable work that explores relationships and perceptions with great imagination and finesse. Sometimes bold and always graceful, Ang's poems demonstrate her true mastery of the surreal.
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
May 06, 2011
Arlene added it
Online reviews:

• By Moira Richards on Arsenic Lobster: http://arseniclobster.magere.com/1review...

• By Lynn Levin on Rattle: http://rattle.com/blog/2010/08/seeing-bi...

• By Howard Giskin on Stride Magazine: http://www.stridemagazine.co.uk/Stride%2...

• By Thomas Fink on Otoliths: http://the-otolith.blogspot.com/2010/12/...

• By Alison Gibbs on Eyewear: http://toddswift.blogspot.com/2011/01/gu...

• By David Morley on Magma/Warwick Bl More...
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Mar 05, 2011
Theresa rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Some of my favorites in the collection: "Ducks release concentric circles," "Love Letter," "Dream Experiments Involving Polaroids," "Insomnia," "Hot tubs," "Mrs. D's Last Letter to Her Son," and whenever we see that ventriloquist. And love those sonnenizios!

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Jan 20, 2012
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Apr 01, 2011
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