Normally
when I read poetry, I dip in and out of a collection, but for some reason Maria Jaztrzebska’s book At the Library of Memories, inspired me to read the poems in chronological order from front
to back. And then I started to dip in
and out, re-reading my favourites.
Perhaps it
was the subtitles (starting with Foyer followed
by Children’s Area) that seemed like
different chapters to me, and made me think of a novel. And even though each
poem can be read on its own, the poems become stronger when you have the full
picture. A bit like looking in a photo album and connecting up memories. The
collection can also be seen as a meditation on memory itself. ”By night
children’s memories flicker like glow worms”.
Maria was
born in Poland, but has lived most of her life in the UK and I love it how she
jumps back and forth in time between her first memories of England and also
thinking about her heritage. Now and again Polish words sneak their way into
the poems, enhancing them. Overall I find it effortless to read the poems,
the author manages to keep the poetic flow without complicating things.
There are
also some very sensual poems about love as well as sexual experiences. My all
time favourite is The Room of Smells, an
interior garden, where the narrator is high on post sex feelings at a bus
stop: ”she hates you comparing her
scent to food or plants. You can’t help the way your mind runs, bumping into
one fragrance after another like a great bumble bee”.
So, If
you’re longing to read poetry, don’t wait. Go and find a copy of At the Library of Memories now.
Maria also
has a blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment