Tag Archives: Poetry

Uncle Tompa by Midori Snyder

July 14, 2019Book ReviewMidori Snyder, Poetry, The Coyote Road, Trickstersskyebjenner

Title: Uncle Tompa
Author: Midori Snyder
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Poetry, Tricksters
Dates read: 12th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: His stomach rumbles, hungering for mischief

Uncle Tompa is a trickster from folklore. One who Snyder highlights seamlessly in her beautiful poem, Uncle Tompa.

I love when you read a poem and it makes you want to dive right into the subject matter and find out more. The fact that this poem featured a trickster from folklore just tickled my fancy all the more. It was actually incredibly sad that it was only two pages long.

The ebb and flow of Snyder’s poem was good like most of the modern, fantasy poems that I’ve been reading lately. But I loved the subject matter. There wasn’t really a tale that was highlighted or an adventure that anyone journeyed along, but there was a fun and humorous lead that jumped from the pages into your imagination. One that I imagined doing so with a wide grin plastered across his impish face.

<- Uncle Bob Visits Review

Cat of the World Review ->

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How Raven Made His Bride by Theodora Goss

May 19, 2019Book ReviewNative American Mythology, Poetry, The Coyote Road, Theodora Goss, Trickstersskyebjenner

Title: How Raven Made His Bride
Author: Theodora Goss
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Native American mythology, Poetry, Tricksters
Dates read: 22nd April 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: While she lay sleeping, he stole

Raven needs to win a bet and create the perfect bride. So how is he going to go about it?

This is a nice, quick and fun poem. It’s an easy read, but one that has many hidden layers. I read it twice before I started trying to write this review. After all, the hidden layers were happy to tell me something new each and every re-read.

I really enjoy stories about Coyote and the Native American tricksters. There is something that is a lot more fun and entertaining than some of the other tricksters in mythology. It is a little less dark than many other trickster stories. But there is still that great, fun sense of vengeance and selfishness. A sense of equality in their very presence.

This poem had a very origins feel to it. Kind of like “how the porcupine got its spines” or “how the camel got its hump” sort of story. Which worked in brilliantly well with the trickster theme that runs throughout not only this poem, but also the collection that I found it in.

<- The Fortune-Teller Review

Crow Roads Review ->

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Run, Rabbit, Run by Jane Yolen

May 7, 2019Book ReviewJane Yolen, Mad Hatters and March Hares, Poetryskyebjenner

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Title: Run, Rabbit, Run
Author: Jane Yolen
In: Mad Hatters and March Hares (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Poetry
Dates read: 29th March 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: when the dogs caught his scent.

Why must the rabbit run? How does he truly work into the world of Alice?

This isn’t one of my favourite poems. It isn’t one of those that sticks with me. But it was a fun and interesting journey. A great way to finish a fantastic collection. Easy, and engaging without making me think too hard.

I loved that the Mad Hatters and March Hares collection both started and ended with a poem. Both are light and funny. Interesting. A great way to think about a classic in an entirely different way.

The rabbit is such an iconic aspect of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and you can understand completely why he caught Yolen’s attention. What a great way to finish such a fun journey… I just don’t have the words beyond that.

<- Moon, and Memory, and Muchness

The Monstrous ->

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Knives by Jane Yolen

May 6, 2019Book ReviewFairy tales, Jane Yolen, Poetry, Retellings, Snow White Blood Redskyebjenner

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Title: Knives
Author: Jane Yolen
In: Snow White, Blood Red (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Poetry, Retellings
Dates read: 1st April 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1993
5th sentence, 74th page: in the language of love:

A poem which gives a more adult, and slightly more disturbed outlook to the original tale of Cinderella.

One of my favourite things about poems is the multitude of meanings that a very few words can describe. The multitude of ways in which mere words can tell an entire story. It’s something that prose just can’t quite manage. Prose can fill in more information, but I find that poetry can often find more meaning.

I’ve always liked (ok, maybe loved) the original version more than the Disney PG one. It’s far more gory, the revenge that Cinderella is able to get it way better and it just is so much more yay. At least for my crazy brain. And this poem manages to take it a whole extra step. Making Cinderella’s voice far less passive and more aggressive. Which I just completely ate up.

<- The Glass Casket Review

The Snow Queen Review ->

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Observing the Formalities by Neil Gaiman

March 29, 2019Book ReviewNeil Gaiman, Poetry, Retellings, Trigger Warning, Troll's-Eye View, Villainsskyebjenner

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Title: Observing the Formalities
Author: Neil Gaiman
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) & Trigger Warning (Neil Gaiman)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Poetry, Retellings, Villains
Dates read: 1st March 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Dull, useless things.

The entire issue with Aurora’s birthday is that no one decided to observe the formalities. And we all know how this story eventually ends…

I absolutely loved this poem. Although Maleficent (or the evil fairy from Sleeping Beauty) has always seemed kind of a terrifying villain, she’s also been the one that I relate to the best. Well, maybe not relate to, but understand. After all, she is retaliating against an incredible slight. Plus, there are so many beautiful retellings in the world now which make her seem far less evil, and just… misunderstood.

Which is probably why I love this poem so much. It highlights the faux pas that was made in “observing the formalities”. And instead of feeling like a tale of an evil witch, it is more about someone who really likes the rules. Which an organise freak like me can completely relate to…

<- Molly

The Cinderella Game ->

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Coyote Woman by Carolyn Dunn

March 17, 2019Book ReviewCarolyn Dunn, Poetry, The Coyote Road, Trickstersskyebjenner

Title: Coyote Woman
Author: Carolyn Dunn
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Poetry, Tricksters
Dates read: 5th March 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: no sealing string,

Coyote is normally seen as a man, but this beautiful poem investigates what it would be like if he was a woman.

I’m getting more and more into poetry as time passes. There is just something about the lyricism of the words and the symbolism they often impart. It just works beautifully. And the use of a female coyote in this story was just fantastic. I love that Dunn finds a way to impart the femininity of tricksters and can share this in so few pages.

This poem is beautiful and fun, easy and enthralling. I read it twice in a row and could go back for thirds so easily. There is just something quaint, beautiful and fun about it that made me fall in love again and again and again.

<- One Odd Shoe Review

Wagers of Gold Mountain Review ->

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Puss in Boots, the Sequel by Joseph Stanton

February 8, 2019Book ReviewFairy tales, Joseph Stanton, Poetry, Troll's-Eye Viewskyebjenner

Title: Puss in Boots, the Sequel
Author: Joseph Stanton
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Poetry
Pace: Fast
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: that his former master barely discerns

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Why didn’t such a smart cat outsmart his owner? Well, maybe he did.

I don’t think I’ve read the original tale of Puss in Boots. Although I have read a few retellings over time, and I thought that doing new take on an old classic using a poem was a quaint and attractive way in which to do so. This was quick, sharp, shiny and straight to the point. It was also well written, fun and great at highlighting the triumph of beast over man.

One of the things that I love about poems is the way in which a single page, or a few lines can quickly get the point across. If this tale was told in prose form, it would take at the very least a few pages of writing, not the quick, and descriptive wording that is conveyed in poetry.

<- The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces Review

The Boy Who Cried Wolf Review ->

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O Terrible Bird by Sandra Kasturi

February 6, 2019Book ReviewBlack Feathers, Horror, Poetry, Sandra Kasturiskyebjenner

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Title: O Terrible Bird
Author: Sandra Kasturi
In: Black Feathers (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Poetry
Dates read: 23rd January 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Pegasus Books Ltd.
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Was it you? Are they limp in your claws?

An incredibly dark avian poem that will leave tingles running up and down your spine.

I knew that the collection Black Feathers was a horror collection based around birds. I knew this, and yet, it wasn’t until I read the opening poem that I really clicked as to what this truly meant. And then I was just uncomfortable. And drawn in. And imagining dark shadows soaring above us. This poem took me on a complete journey of horror and wonder. And in such a short amount of time.

This is the second of Kasturi’s poems that I’ve had the fortune of reading. And man, is it worth it. this is an incredibly intense and dark poem. One that, like all good pieces of poetry, has layer upon layer of meaning. And one that I will probably reread again and again in an attempt to find more meaning.

<- Black Feathers Review

The Obscure Bird Review ->

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Faery Tales by Wendy Froud

January 11, 2019Book ReviewFairy tales, Poetry, Troll's-Eye View, Villains, Wendy Froudskyebjenner

Title: Faery Tales
Author: Wendy Froud
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Poetry, Villains
Pace: Fast
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: wished, as I had done.

A poem that looks at the three different stages of women throughout fairy tales. It asks (and answers) the question “what happens after happily-ever-after”?

I really loved this poem. I tend to find with poetry, some things just strike me beautifully, and some don’t really pull me in at all. But, probably because this is a story that is based on the women of fairy tales, I adored it. There was a great passage of time throughout the three stanzas and they captured the ways in which we change over time.

What I liked most about this poetic tale was that it starts with the innocents – the goosegirls, the princesses. Then it travels to their happy endings – the princesses, the mothers. But, ultimately, it shows how these happy endings turn into not-so-happy-endings – the stepmothers and the evil witches. There is great duality right throughout this tale.

<- An Unwelcome Guest Review

Rags and Riches Review ->

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Gentle Alice by Kris Dikeman

January 1, 2019Book ReviewKris Dikeman, Mad Hatters and March Hares, Poetryskyebjenner

Title: Gentle Alice
Author: Kris Dikeman
In: Mad Hatters and March Hares (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Poetry
Pace: Fast
Format: Poem
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: plates and

A poem which tells the story of Gentle Alice.

One of the things that I love most about this poem is the way in which it is laid out on the page. The entire thing takes the shape of a teacup with a wisp of steam coming from the top. The perfect poem and imagery to start off a collection of stories based around Alice in Wonderland.

Although this is a short, sweet and concise poem, it bares the wordplay and interplay that I loved throughout Carroll’s works. It is one of those multilayered stories that I will read again and again and again whenever I need to quickly be transported away to another world. And it will continuously reveal new, fun and intriguing meanings. Actually… I think I’ll go and read it again right now…

<- Mad Hatters and March Hares Review

My Own Invention Review ->

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.

Tag Archives: Poetry

Uncle Tompa by Midori Snyder

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How Raven Made His Bride by Theodora Goss

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Run, Rabbit, Run by Jane Yolen

Knives by Jane Yolen

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Observing the Formalities by Neil Gaiman

Coyote Woman by Carolyn Dunn

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Puss in Boots, the Sequel by Joseph Stanton

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O Terrible Bird by Sandra Kasturi

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Faery Tales by Wendy Froud

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Gentle Alice by Kris Dikeman

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