Dread: Poems

by Ai

A searing collection of poems about America's loss of innocence from the National Book Award-winning author of Vice . In poems that travel from the horrific flight of a World War II pilot to the World Trade Center attack, from the death of JFK Jr. to the poet's own bastard birth, Ai conjures purity as a distant memory and the knowledge of evil as an "infinite dark night." "An undoubtedly powerful personae."― Publishers Weekly "Ai's cleansing soliloquies give voice to pain both personal and communal....[ Dread ] presents her most masterfully unnerving works to date."― Booklist   " Dread has the characteristic moral strength that makes Ai a necessary poet."― The New York Times Book Review

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous

124 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Ai Ogawa (born Florence Anthony) was an American poet who who described herself as 1/2 Japanese, 1/8 Choctaw-Chickasaw, 1/4 Black, 1/16 Irish and as well as Southern Cheyenne and Comanche. She is known for her mastery of the dramatic monologue as a poetic form, as well as for taking on dark, controversial topics in her work. While her poems often contain sex, violence, and other subjects for which she received criticism, she stated during a 1978 interview that she did not view her use of them as gratuitous. About the poems in her first collection, Cruelty, she said: "I wanted people to see how they treated each other and themselves." In 1999 she won the National Book Award for Poetry for Vice: New and Selected Poems.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex and deep. Very depressing, though (i.e., don't read it at bedtime), which the title, I suppose, should already warn. Reminiscent of Robert Browning to me, in that the poems are long and narrative, tell a story, and usually lead in an unexpected direction. Common themes include 9/11, interracial relations, broken homes, and disturbing childhood memories.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ai was an unusual poet, specializing in poems written in the voice(s) of specific characters: a New York city policewoman who obsessively searches Ground Zero for signs of her brother, who was lost in the 9/11 attacks; a high school teacher who falls in love with a prostitute; victims of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Most of the poems explore the darker side of human nature. They are mostly excellent, but there is occasionally a sense that Ai has lost a step compared to her earlier work. Several of the poems maybe go on a little too long, and several have lines which don't seem quite right in context. But maybe this is a quibble; many of these poems will still take your breath away.

[Charle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ai chooses to give more attention to each poem, resulting in longer poems. I'm not sure how I feel about that. One of the reasons I prefer her older poetry is her ability to fit so much emotion in so few lines. I kind of felt like these poems dragged on. Maybe I'll give this another shot in the future.

[Kimathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, that was dreadful.

Not for the faint of heart. Haunting and visceral and challenging. And everything and more that I expected from Ai after reading Vice. Read with Libby, but I would love to own this one.

[chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had no love in it, it had no hate,
but it had kinship.
-- "Family"

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for The Greenwood Cycle
By Ai

Another cutting is for The Psychic Detective:
Fantasy
By Ai

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re in the mood to sip some caffeine-free chamomile tea and curl up on the sofa with a book of inspiring, soothing poetry, avoid Ai’s book of poems, Dread, at all cost.

At 123 pages, this short book is a tour de force of human misery. It has poems about 9/11, a husband killing a wife, a sibling killing another sibling, a child killing his father (to mention just some of the many murders), incest, alcoholism, psychoses, an attempted suicide, an unwanted pregnancy, spousal abuse, marital cheating, child abuse, child molestation (by a grandfather), a child murdered, a lynching, a serial rapist/torturer/murderer, mutilation (a hand cut off), abandonment, the slaughter of a black community, and more.

Fortunately (?), Ai’s style is accessible and she tells the stories from the point of view of people in the stories. There’s little arcane poet speak. The poems prosaic, with little in terms of rhyme, rhythm or form to suggest they are poetry. The language is fairly simple and plain, with little word play and hardly a memorable line. (Well, hardly memorable for their eloquence. There are plenty of lines memorable for their horror.)

I’m probably more depressed, cynical and misanthropic than the next gal, but this book – whoa.

Not my cup of poison.

[k.wing · Rating 4 out of 5]

(technically 3.5 stars, but I like to round up :)

I had a fun time reading Ai's poems (bet you're not going to see that comment a lot on the other reviews...) because of her style and choice of subject matter. While her style is light, sometimes rhyming, free style, her subject matter is heavy and matted, and usually told much like a story. I sincerely enjoyed almost every poem and was effected by almost every poem.

I am a little confused at the title of this collection of work, and maybe that's why I didn't give it a full 4 stars. A few selections it is easy to see where the title fits, but in others I have to read into, push and pull, to fit it into the title, and in with the other pieces. Also, I was under the impression that one or two pieces still needed some work, or fine-tuning. Not in a snobby way, but in a way that I think Ai is so talented and such a beautiful poet that I know she could've written it a little cleaner.

That said, I will definitely be reading more of Ai's other books - maybe I'll try one or two that she's won awards for - with certainty that I will also enjoy them.

[Emmet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read quite a few of the entries in this book more than once; okay, it IS poetry, after all. Ai definitely likes to write challenging pieces--not just in content or theme, but in structure as well. She seems to be operating from the less is more idea. However, the reason I can't recommend it fully is that one of the poems I just couldn't make sense out of, after multiple reads. Dense and challenging poetry is okay by me, but when it's so dense or challenging I can't cut through it to arrive at meaning, then it's gone down the rabbit hole. Outside of that one poem (the one for JFK Jr), the collection was pretty good.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Ai writes poems like she's punching something. It's a visceral experience, reading them. She writes about lots of awful things: murder, loss of innocence, various forms of brutality. And she uses the first-person narrative approach effectively, putting the reader right into the story. This allows her to dig deeply into the psychology of each poem. She's a mother, a female cop, a daughter, a psychic male detective. Strong writing, plenty of variety, great poems.

[Carly Trask-Kuchta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting, confusing, and fascinating portrayal of trauma, mainly in childhood, through various perspectives. It was a lot to chew on, but beautifully written. I found myself savoring the book, but also being disgusted by its honesty and tragedy and picture of trauma. I loved it wholly and completely, and will need to continue to digest it for a few days.

[Sarah Schantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I will need to read this collection at least ten more times before I can figure out what I need to say about these poems. I do think this book is important to my thesis work involving "Little Red Riding Hood" and her evolution from prey to predator. For now I will use one word to describe this brilliant book: Unflinching.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. Ai's powers of empathy and storytelling are amazing in this collection. But some of the stories are just so terrible (i.e. the serial killer stories) that I found the book exhausting to read.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

these poems read like beautiful prose but are still tight in form.

[Miho · Rating 5 out of 5]

poetry that stings and leaves an open wound on your compassion. this is the kind of exploration into pain that truly liberates. it is not easy to read, but very important to experience.

[Liam Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in June 2010, the Summer of Poetry. Surprised at this because I bought it over Christmas in Scranton at that used bookstore.

[Malik · Rating 5 out of 5]

{{{{{{{{{!!!!!!!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the accessibility of Ai's dramatic monologues. I felt, though, that her obsession with the dark was somewhat sensational, and her treatment of it a little heavy-handed.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems cut straight to the heart; as far as dramatic monologues go, they are far more accessible than Browning and much more direct.

[Darcy Diana]

I picked this up randomly at my public library not knowing what to expect. I’m not going to rate it because it’ll be difficult for me as I struggle with understanding poetry in depth. I’ll say it was an interesting read, can’t say much else.