Review: Rose

Rose by Li-Young Lee

I read lots of fiction, but I also read poetry. This is a book of poetry that I bought back around 8th grade, give or take, as part of my summer reading. I had to choose between two books of poetry, read it, and write about it. Back then, I still liked poetry and thought myself a poet, but my ability with understanding it and enjoying something from each poem was a lot less. Years passed; Li-Young Lee visited out school and talked to us about poetry and suddenly I became a lot more interested in his poetry and I started find more of his poems online and I have loved many and memorized some. That being said, it has taken me until now to actually re-read this volume of his poetry.

This time around, I am a lot more appreciative of his language and ability to convey emotion. I still don't understand all his poems, but I understand more what is going on and some of the major themes he deals with, like trying to resolve his feelings about his father who has passed on.

Obviously, many of you who are reading this are probably not big poetry fans like I am, but if you enjoy poetry, this volume by Li-Young Lee is very good and the overall feel of the volume leaves you satisfied and knowing more than you knew before. If you don't enjoy poetry, I'd probably tell you to just go online and find a couple poems by Li-Young Lee, but the book might not be for you.