My Song for Him Who Never Sang to Me

by Merrit Malloy

Photographs complement intimate short poems about human relationships

Genres: Poetry

153 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Elaine]

I found a few good poems in this but also a lot of sap. I thought that it got a bit better after the first section but that some of the writing would have been more powerful if edited down. In fact her shorter ones seemed stronger.

[Bobbie]

Merrit Malloy is one of my favorite poets. This is the first collection of poetry of hers that I've read, but I will surely read more of books. A lot of her poems are short yet so powerful. For example. "Rag Doll" which discusses the loss of one's love. I also really like the poem of the same title as the book, "My Song for Him Who Never Sang to Me." If you enjoy poetry as I do, check this book out. I'm sure you will enjoy it as I do!

[Alessia Sofia]

I'm a Merrit Malloy girly - like, she really was the OG Tumblr girl (Sorry, Sylvia Plath).

Jokes aside, 'My Song for Him Who Never Sang to Me' is beautiful - with some pearls like 'Epitaph', 'It's Not Enough', 'Reruns', 'I Won't Call Him', 'Circles', 'Split Ends', 'Wrong Reason', 'Wolf Story', and '90049', her first collection truly deserves its flowers.

[Dennis]

This was her first collection, if I remember, and her best. I was very moved by these poems and carry one around with me all the time (Symphony in P-Flat). This came out at a time when there was a big movement in poetry on campus and I recognize that a lot of it is trite but it still moves me.

[James]

A secondhand gift from a friend who said that this was her favorite poet, so I felt obliged to read. I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but I did somewhat. And the first section was exactly the sappiness of young love that I expected. Yet once we left "him" behind, the poems improved. Some are good, none are great. Many could use much trimming. Several continued long after their ending.

Nevertheless, these were written by a 25 year old. I think back to my love-smitten poetry at that age and give the author more credit. Still not my cup of tea but it could be yours.

[Scott]

this book of poetry is so amazing. it just i can imagine singing this as hardcore lyrics. so inspiring. so intimate.
I first heard of Merrit Malloy from her poem Epitaph. You can find it in lots of places. Including Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur. That was where I first read it. It couldn't believe Epitaph
is not you know from Sinai. But written by a 25 year old apparently. Wow. i did the math. this is so personal. this is so beautiful. i just feel hit in the heart. so many poems in here are almost cringe but just make your heart explode. and wow

[Max]

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...

A beautiful collection of poems that meditate on love, relationships, and change. I picked this up because a poem from it, Epitaph, was featured in an episode of The Midnight Club, and I really enjoyed it. Though many of the poems contain simple observations, Malloy has a calmness and evenness to the pace of her exploration of these topics that encourages you to take your time and still feel an impact.

[Anne]

3.5. I am not a big poetry reader, but I really enjoyed some of the poems in this. I loved the occasional photographs, I think it gave it more depth, but overall there were some poems that weren’t a hit for me and some that were. Although it definitely made me want to know more about Merrit Malloy.

(Please ignore how long it took me to finish this short book, I had to go through a whole journey to get a digital copy to read it every time I wanted to)

[Peggy Heitmann]

I love this book. I read it first after it initially came out in the 70's. I loved it then. It was the first poetry book that I could relate to at the time. Many of the poems are still very relatable. Some of the language could be sharper and clearer, but the emotional conveyance is strong. I recommend this book.

[OFOR]

amazing book i must commend

[Doris Corea]

I love this book from cover to cover! It speaks to me. I inherited this book in 1978 from a good friend of mine. I still have it. One of my favorite poems is Locsl Anaesthetic.

[Trinity]

"I'll see you at home
in the Earth"

[Tristan]

Merrit Malloy, the author you are—I’m stunned and want to reread every poem and all the notes I wrote in the margin.

[Mrs. Klemach]

Some of the most honest poetry I've ever read.

[Sagewolf]

My favorite poetry book.

[Jessie]

Really -sometimes sad- beautiful, realistic poetry about love.
It's gorgeous.

[Jeri]

my favorite book