I said the sea was folded: Love Poems

by Erik Jensen

‘These poems were intended first as gifts. They are the story of falling in love with a person who lives outside the gender binary and realising that is not one thing but everything.’ —Erik Jensen

Erik Jensen is an award-winning journalist, biographer and screenwriter. These poems announce a new phase in his work. They are startling in their simplicity and their honesty – reminiscent of Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson and Seamus Heaney. The poems chart the first three years of Jensen’s relationship with his partner, a non-binary composer and musician. They are love poems, written against the complexity of understanding another person. Together they form a fragmentary memoir of hope, disagreement and love.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2021

About the author

Erik Jensen is an award-winning journalist, biographer, screenwriter and poet. He is the founding editor of The Saturday Paper and editor-in-chief of Schwartz Media. His first book, Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen, was made into an acclaimed feature film. He is also the author of On Kate Jennings, Quarterly Essay 74: The Prosperity Gospel and the poetry collection I Said the Sea Was Folded.

Reviews

[Phoebe Barnes]

Ohh my goodness, this collection is an extended version of ‘Labyrinth’ by Taylor Swift.

It is the soft, gradual feeling of falling in love with a perfectly imperfect person. And before you realise it you are talking about the way turtles sleep, and buying ‘smaller plates, so that dinner Would not be so scary’.

It is petty arguments, and T.S. Eliot, and anxiety, and frustration of not being able to climb into the other person’s head.

[Lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was startlingly lovely in its simplicity; the clever structure told a love story in reverse, and it was poignant. I enjoyed many of the references (Mary Oliver is after all, my fav poet) and there's nothing more I enjoy then a motif in a poetry collection, so I was delighted. The poems were almost deceptively simple, but their imagery wasn't, some beautiful lines. Loved loved loved the turtles poem, in all its forms.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What type of dog is that on the cover they’re so pretty I want them

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, Gorgeous and Cute

[Levi ∆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I bought smaller plates, so that dinner Would not be so scary'

never have 2 lines actually made me cry.

[LainaV · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was reading this I felt that Eirk really intended to write this book for himself as a reminder to never forget how he felt. Sometimes it felt like I was an outsider because of the way some poems reflected back on memories and the inside jokes that were apparent. This read is very personal to Eirk and definitely intimate which at times felt strange to read and made me feel lost.

In saying this I genuinely enjoyed this book. I think for this being his first collection of poetry he has grasped some great concepts and writing perspectives.

It was interesting to see a perspective that was to detailed and yet so broad. I liked the idea of reading from the end to the beginning because in most instances when reflecting on relationships or pasts we tend to first remember how it ended and make our way back to the beginning.

[MEG · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute joy to read. I stumbled upon this book a few days ago, and have delighted in consuming the raw, whole and intimate words that are painted across these pages!

Specifically, I am a fan of how the collection works backwards from the present. With this in mind, I read the collection twice - once as intended, and once backwards. Both times elicited genuine emotions and insights into the relationship Jensen portrays.

009. Inside a Head - is one of my favourites. A delicate curation of words to highlight perspective, autonomous views and the importance of communication.

Easily something I can see myself turning to again and again, for comfort and thought - in a bite sized pocket piece.

[Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was a poetry book written by a journalist and you can tell.

the final poem pretty much sums it up for me: this book belongs too much to the person who wrote it.

these poems were originally intended as gifts and (in my opinion) they should’ve stayed gifts. they read as jumbled nonsense because we are not in on the joke. we weren’t there. they make no sense on their own or as a collection and the epilogue left me feeling more confused than satisfied.

[Bonnie]

I found some poems enjoyable and others quite bland and shallow. Some poems felt as though they fell flat and could have been explored a lot more than they were. While reading it is painfully clear these poems were meant for one person in particular e.g using inside jokes, referencing memories the reader doesn't share etc. Still rated 2 stars because some of the poems I genuinely found very well written

[Danah Slade · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.4

It wasn't bad by any means. Mostly a bunch of observations. I can appreciate that and how not every poem needs to have some life altering message but there wasn't anything super memorable in here.

"Broad Beans" was probably my favourite from the whole collection. It was one where the last sentence actually felt like a closure but still provoked more thought.

[Emma Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this at a solo pub lunch on in a colonial town 20 mins from launceston. Feels real and true, and perfect when you’re here because you’re running away from the reality of living in the same city as your ex of 10 years and you can’t see them.

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intimate

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Dickinson. Is what Kate Jennings said about these poems. They start backwards because that is how it ended. Some poignant moments captured

[Susie Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sparse and lovely

[mabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

i like the cover

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this charming, delicate, and very moving. A thoughtful butterfly-pinning of a relationship, told in reverse. Really clever and beautiful.

[Tamara]

Not for me unfortunately.

[Kristen Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved “Forgiveness” and think it’s an excellent poem. The book as a whole I thought was good but nothing else stuck out to me quite as much.

[Hayley (hayleys.little.library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to keep this review very short and sweet, as I think that poetry is very subjective and personal, so it's hard and not the sort of thing that's easy to 'judge' and review. A lot of the poem's were quite heavy and sad, whilst being about the author's relationship problems and break up. I didn't really click with this book, and think it was (maybe) a mixture of me not loving the writing style, struggling to make sense of some of the poems, and the book just coming to me at the wrong time.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found some poems enjoyable and others quite bland and shallow. Some poems felt as though they fell flat and could have been explored a lot more than they were. Still rated 3 stars because some of the poems I genuinely found very well written

[Elsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gentle, whole, very beautiful.