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Among Women: Poems
In Among Women , Shinder courageously explores men's fear of sexual intimacy using a personal, very private voice that whispers from the mire of lived human experience. In crisp, clean lines, the poems accurately convey the vulnerability, longing, and shame associated with the fear of human contact and communication. Sometimes achingly sensual, though never sentimental, Shinder treats this subject with daring and originality.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 2, 2012
the tenderness / that comes from those / I don't know / has become a fire / that burns / even after the fire / is out. To anyone / walking hurriedly by / without stopping / without ever knowing / I was there - their not-touching / has become the one thing / I lie down with.
Imagine writing these poems and making them public & I don't mean bravery exactly... This is a man exploring his self worth in relation to intimacy & desire. The poems are decidedly male, but as unashamedly secretive & complex as you would expect of a woman - or a dozen women. Stunning but raw.
Imagine writing these poems and making them public & I don't mean bravery exactly... This is a man exploring his self worth in relation to intimacy & desire. The poems are decidedly male, but as unashamedly secretive & complex as you would expect of a woman - or a dozen women. Stunning but raw.
February 11, 2011
This book was a gripping page turner for me, not something you usually say about a book of poems! I blogged about it a couple days ago and forgot to rate/review it here for the Poetry reading group. It is excruciatingly honest and tender, shows an amazing mind grappling with personal fears and loves.
Well, this, for instance, "The Fear" (and I could have opened to any page as an example):
I waited for love
the way my dog waited
for someone
to call him
by his real name.
I ripped open
my shirt,
wanting to be saved
but not knowing
from what.
After each breath,
the next was smaller,
troubled.
I didn't want to die,
an orange
that has spent its life
in the dark.
And so on. (I'm not attempting the html for indentation, but each second and third line is indented to create movement, a ripple across each stanza.) I love the directness of this and its "confessional" aspect, which no one seems to mind when done by a man. Everyone calls it brave, etc., and embraces the honesty and vulnerability, as I do here. I'm just noting that when women do this, they are so often dismissed as personal, confessional writers. Sometimes "domestic" if they talk about the orange, the dog. I don't begrudge Jason Shinder for writing this way and getting away with it. Why shouldn't he? I do begrudge those who dismiss women writers when they do the same thing. Dorothy Parker begged to "write like a man." Well, this is writing like a man, by a man, and a man or a woman should be able to do it, in my book.....
Well, this, for instance, "The Fear" (and I could have opened to any page as an example):
I waited for love
the way my dog waited
for someone
to call him
by his real name.
I ripped open
my shirt,
wanting to be saved
but not knowing
from what.
After each breath,
the next was smaller,
troubled.
I didn't want to die,
an orange
that has spent its life
in the dark.
And so on. (I'm not attempting the html for indentation, but each second and third line is indented to create movement, a ripple across each stanza.) I love the directness of this and its "confessional" aspect, which no one seems to mind when done by a man. Everyone calls it brave, etc., and embraces the honesty and vulnerability, as I do here. I'm just noting that when women do this, they are so often dismissed as personal, confessional writers. Sometimes "domestic" if they talk about the orange, the dog. I don't begrudge Jason Shinder for writing this way and getting away with it. Why shouldn't he? I do begrudge those who dismiss women writers when they do the same thing. Dorothy Parker begged to "write like a man." Well, this is writing like a man, by a man, and a man or a woman should be able to do it, in my book.....
May 3, 2009
(A month of poetry: May 2, 2009.)
I was first introduced to Shinder's work when I was compelled to visit an AWP (Chicago 2009) panel on celebrating the poet's life--I was interested due to the people on the panel, and they read with such passion and loved him in their speeches that I've found myself reading his work.
I wasn't entirely struck by these poems, not as much as I was when his work was read aloud, though there is something here to keep the book on my shelf, to find myself returning to it again in a few years, as a new reader.
I was first introduced to Shinder's work when I was compelled to visit an AWP (Chicago 2009) panel on celebrating the poet's life--I was interested due to the people on the panel, and they read with such passion and loved him in their speeches that I've found myself reading his work.
I wasn't entirely struck by these poems, not as much as I was when his work was read aloud, though there is something here to keep the book on my shelf, to find myself returning to it again in a few years, as a new reader.
July 9, 2011
Some of these poems were just uncomfortable to read. I am a fan of confessional poetry, but Shinder left a lot of these pieces seemingly incomplete in thought. At times, he can be heavy, but mostly he falls a bit flat with this one.
April 14, 2023
The Past
All the waves want to come in at once.
Stars rush toward earth.
Every desire has a degree in which angels
lend an ear.
After all, I’m not in the world yet.
The presence of someone has come upon me.
What is the past if I can change?
All the waves want to come in at once.
Stars rush toward earth.
Every desire has a degree in which angels
lend an ear.
After all, I’m not in the world yet.
The presence of someone has come upon me.
What is the past if I can change?
August 16, 2014
I liked Stupid Hope a lot more than I liked this one. Many of the poems were uncomfortably honest and were hard to distinguish from one another because the imagery was similar.
March 22, 2009
I got as much out of this book as I could but could wring no more out of it. The poems are short, to the point and yet leaves much open to the imagination. I think this is a fine book, but maybe not my kind of book of poems. It felt like after three-fourths into the book, that there was too much of the same monotone feel.
Sample Poem:
Part of the Body
It's not that her blouse
isn't opening.
If I say anything
I'm a liar. It's just
nobody lives here.
Or it's late.
Or I'm tired. Maybe
lie down lightly
or sideways,
go back home
before dinner.
I can only bear
one part of the body
at a time,
the fear the fear and the fear
Sample Poem:
Part of the Body
It's not that her blouse
isn't opening.
If I say anything
I'm a liar. It's just
nobody lives here.
Or it's late.
Or I'm tired. Maybe
lie down lightly
or sideways,
go back home
before dinner.
I can only bear
one part of the body
at a time,
the fear the fear and the fear
April 28, 2008
I just learned that Jason Shinder died last week. I read his anthology about Allen Ginsburg's "Howl". I've been meaning to read Shinder's poems....God, there's just so much poetry out there! Never enough time in the day!
May 17, 2009
frighteningly honest - i thought i'd studied male sexuality enough to brace me for reads like this one. nope. uncannily done. spare writing too - good for short-attention-span types./ ps anyone have a first floor apartment in the brattleboro area for rent?
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews