Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Apple Trees at Olema by Robert Hass

After reading 35 pages and skimming through several more I have made the executive decision to abandon The Apple Trees at Olema. Hass is a former Poet Laureate and recipient of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize – a lot of honors. But to be honest, the poetry didn’t do anything for me. It was like reading several sentences that sound like gibberish. In my opinion, poetry shouldn’t insert some mystic meaning into words (that only the poet is privy to) so that the general reader has no idea what he’s trying to say. I felt vibes of grief, frustration, pessimism and appreciation for life. Poetry is personal, I know that, and is highly subjective and open to personal interpretation. Well, my interpretation is that these poems are created out of sincere expression but are not easily accessible to the average (or random) reader.
Publisher: Ecco, of Harper Collins, 2010
Source: Free advance copy from the publisher via Goodreads
Pages: 352

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