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Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
14 posts | 9 read | 27 to read
Daily I sit with the language they've made of our language to NEUTRALIZE the CAPABILITY of LOW DOLLAR VALUE ITEMs like you. You are what is referred to as a "CASUALTY." --from "Personal Effects" Solmaz Sharif's astonishing first book, Look, asks us to see the ongoing costs of war as the unbearable loss of human lives and also the insidious abuses against our everyday speech. In this virtuosic array of poems, lists, shards, and sequences, Sharif assembles her family's and her own fragmented narratives in the aftermath of warfare. Those repercussions echo into the present day, in the grief for those killed in America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and in the discrimination endured at the checkpoints of daily encounter. At the same time, these poems point to the ways violence is conducted against our language. Throughout this collection are words and phrases lifted from the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms; in their seamless inclusion, Sharif exposes the devastating euphemisms deployed to sterilize the language, control its effects, and sway our collective resolve. But Sharif refuses to accept this terminology as given, and instead turns it back on its perpetrators. "Let it matter what we call a thing," she writes. "Let me look at you."
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EadieB
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Weaponxgirl
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Poetry is still something I'm getting my head round but this does have some powerful pieces in here. Imagery and feeling we're coming through as you would suddenly realise what she was talking about. Anyone got other suggestions for a still poetry newborn who wishes to learn?

KimHM Sylvia Plath (modern American ex-pat in England). Albert Goldbarth (contemporary American). Walt Whitman (classic American). 6y
Weaponxgirl @KimHM thank you 😀 I've been looking for Plath in the library but they don't appear to have much of her actual poetry! 6y
KimHM Hm. That's curious, but you can sample Plath here https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sylvia-plath while you wait for an inter-library loan or until you decide to buy 😉 6y
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Weaponxgirl @KimHM thank you 😀 I thought it was strange too, I was looking for Ariel. 6y
quietlycuriouskate Yay, more poetry readers! ? I would suggest trying an anthology, like this one perhaps (it's not just dead white guys) or else getting a secondhand copy of the Norton anthology. Don't worry too much about "getting" it to start with: just see what appeals to you and take it from there. Hope this helps! 6y
Weaponxgirl @River_Voice thank you 😀 it's quite a new addition to my reading. Going to try a poetry book a month or so. I do have some Margaret Atwood and maya Angelou on my bookshelf so will dive into those soon 6y
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Still quoting from last month's poet, Solmaz Sharif. Throughout the collection, she uses terms & phrases from the U.S. Dept of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, which usually show up integrated into poems but always capitalized. Here, she uses them as the starting point for a series of mini-poems. #poetrychallenge2018 Read more about it here: http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-solmaz-sharif-20160627-snap-sto...

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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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I know it's February now, but I still have to share some of these great poems I read in January! #poetrychallenge2018

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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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I whizzed through my second poet/poetry collection for January of the #poetrychallenge2018 during the #24in48 readathon, so I'll be posting a few quotes from it today. Sorry they're all via a beat-up old kindle, it was technically returned to the library already. 😂 Solmaz Sharif, the poet, is Iranian-American and her poems are political in the best of ways.

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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Well, I have to read this on a super old kindle with disconnected wifi because it's already been returned to the library! I will really appreciate the ability to highlight on a touchscreen after this adventure. It's beautiful so far though, and pairs depressingly well with Home Fire, which I'm reading for #LMPBC. #poetrychallenge2018

SassyBookworm I‘m glad I‘m not the only one who turns off the WiFi to keep the returned library book longer 😂 #bookwormproblems 6y
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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This is a very useful note! (I always read poetry horizontally on my phone so that I get rid of some of these issues).

So I checked out Look just before January but ended up deciding to read my first poet in the first half of the month and so on...only to realize that this expires in just over 24 hours and someone has a hold on it...so...BETTER READ FAST!! 112 pages of poetry in one day...am I capable? 😳 #poetrychallenge2018

emtobiasz I wish all poetry ebooks did this! I'm always hesitant to read poetry on ebooks because I feel like the poems don't look the way they're supposed to on a screen. 6y
rockpools You can do it!! And yes, definitely a helpful note! 6y
Natasha.C.Barnes @RachelO Thanks for the encouragement! I just looked all around online and there is no other way to get it without buying it, so this is really happening! 😖 6y
rockpools Who needs sleep, anyway?! 6y
DivineDiana Yes, you are! 6y
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Happy New Year, #poetrychallenge2018 folks! I'm so excited to start this challenge off right! I'm still finishing Ben Lerner's The Hatred of Poetry as a fun and funny way to start a year of poetry reading, but these are my real choices for January! Both John Ashbery and Solmaz Sharif were on my shortlist, but when I read a comparison between them in a review of Sharif's collection I knew they'd be an interesting pair. #poetrychallenge

Natasha.C.Barnes (I know it says 12 months/12 poets, but for me it's going to be 12 months/24 poets because I just can't decide.) 6y
Andrea4 Interesting! I really don't know who to start with but I could do Neruda as I got 3 new bilingual editions + all the old books I haven't gotten through. 6y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Andrea4 I love Neruda! That's a great place to start. Or check out the hashtag for other recommendations! 6y
readinginthedark Ooh! Strong start! 6y
Natasha.C.Barnes @readinginthedark Thanks! I'm starting in on the Ashbery today after I finish 6y
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Erin01
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Erin01
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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LauraBeth
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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I need a complete do-over of 2016 because I missed this BRILLIANT poet and her amazing book. https://solmazsharif.com/poems/ #litsypoetry365 @SharonGoforth @Graywolfpress

RadicalReader @LauraBeth such a nice moment of not passing up a wonderful book and the amazing authors of it. 7y
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Kenny
Look: Poems | Solmaz Sharif
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Someone broke into one of my favorite bookstores in the country, Brazos Bookstore. WHO STEALS FROM A BOOKSTORE? If a bunch of us each buy a book from them today I bet we could really easily make up the money they lost from the break-in.

I bought a copy of Solmaz Sharif's Look. Poetry for me, love and some money for Brazos.

brazosbookstore.com

Hooked_on_books That is not ok, stealing from a bookstore!! 😡 Heading to the website now to help out (any excuse to book shop, right?). 😉 8y
melbeautyandbooks That is awful! 8y
Yournewfriendsams That's so messed up! Will buy something today ☺️ 8y
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Books_Wine_Repeat Stealing from a bookstore? That's one serious book addiction! Checking out website now. 👍 8y
britt_brooke 😤 8y
Kenny @Hooked_on_books It's been amazing seeing the book community rising up in support. 8y
Kenny @Books_Wine_Repeat Let me know if you choose anything cool. 8y
LeahBergen 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻 to the rotten thieves, too. I'll check out the site! 8y
Gissy 🖕🏼 8y
she_barks Just ordered 2 books for me and 2 for my daughter's birthday. Thanks for letting us know! 8y
Lauren_reading Ugh-jerks! Checking out their website now! 8y
Kenny @she_barks You're amazing. Wow. Thanks. (It's not even my store, but I'm grateful anyway.) 8y
Kenny @LaurenReads I'm curious if you find anything you love. 8y
Lauren_reading @Kenny I picked up The Notorious RBG and a Sarah Maclean historical 😀 can't wait to get them 8y
Kenny @LaurenReads: I love that RBG book. 8y
Kenny @Litsy @AmyStewart Can we get the word out about the break in at Brazos Bookstore? A bunch of people have been buying books from them to make up for the loss. It's been beautiful. #getindie 8y
melbeautyandbooks I just bought 2 books from them. And I posted about it on FB. I happen to be in TX so hoping my fellow Texans will help out, too. 8y
Kenny @melbeautyandbooks That's incredible. Wow. Thanks. (I'm thanking you on behalf of someone else, but I still think it counts.) 8y
LydiaMelby Aaah all of y'all's support has been so wonderful and so heartening 💙💚💙💚💙 8y
LydiaMelby Thanks for leading the charge, Kenny 8y
Wipeoutt31 Oh wow. Last year I drove to Houston to see Muse. Before the concert, I swung by Brazos Bookstore to check it out. Unfortunately I did not purchase anything. Shame on me.😕 8y
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Graywolfpress
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