Review of Best Evidence
Posted: 16 Sep 2021, 15:58
[Following is a volunteer review of "Best Evidence" by Mark S. Osaki.]
Poetry has been an important form of art throughout the centuries and humans have been writing, hearing, and reading poems for a long time. Prose poetry, specifically, is a kind of poetry that is written in prose while adding elements of traditional poetry into the text. Best Evidence, written by Mark S. Osaki, an Asian-American, is a compilation of several prose poems that discuss, in a very witty way, a variety of subjects relevant not only to this century but common to all human history.
I enjoyed the whole book. It's a very short reading but it takes some time to gather your thoughts after getting into contact with the author's ideas. A lot of poems are very specific to his experience as an Asian-American but it's so raw and well written that you can feel the pain and all the emotions that are evoked with such situations. Personally, I loved the way he used the words and the dry humor present in the writing.
One of my favorite poems was "Preserve". A very short portrait of war. I liked the way he used the children, as they are, for some reason, forgotten in many war stories. "Fish Heads" is a remarkable one with a very well-used dry humor. "My Father Holding Squash" is a great look at parental relationships and expectations, it almost made me tear up. "Destinations" is a look at life itself and it made me think about the phases of life and the changes in beliefs.
Although the book seemed very aware of current important subjects with poems on war and racism, I felt like the author frequently painted women in a negative light. As an example, I can point out the poem "Border Exchange" as it portrays the woman as the one who will surely betray the partner. Although this could be just another poem on love relationships and broken hearts or adults making their own choices about their love lives, after seeing the way women were portrayed in the poems before this one, I just had enough. I would like to add, though, that it doesn't seem intentional.
I would love to give the book a perfect rating as I loved the poems, the writing, and the subjects but because of the depiction of women throughout the book, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
The collection of poems is not focused on a single theme so I would recommend Best Evidence to readers that enjoy the poetry on a variety of subjects. I'd also recommend the book to people that want to read poetry but don't know how to begin, as the vocabulary is not complicated and the reading is smooth and easy to understand.
******
Best Evidence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Poetry has been an important form of art throughout the centuries and humans have been writing, hearing, and reading poems for a long time. Prose poetry, specifically, is a kind of poetry that is written in prose while adding elements of traditional poetry into the text. Best Evidence, written by Mark S. Osaki, an Asian-American, is a compilation of several prose poems that discuss, in a very witty way, a variety of subjects relevant not only to this century but common to all human history.
I enjoyed the whole book. It's a very short reading but it takes some time to gather your thoughts after getting into contact with the author's ideas. A lot of poems are very specific to his experience as an Asian-American but it's so raw and well written that you can feel the pain and all the emotions that are evoked with such situations. Personally, I loved the way he used the words and the dry humor present in the writing.
One of my favorite poems was "Preserve". A very short portrait of war. I liked the way he used the children, as they are, for some reason, forgotten in many war stories. "Fish Heads" is a remarkable one with a very well-used dry humor. "My Father Holding Squash" is a great look at parental relationships and expectations, it almost made me tear up. "Destinations" is a look at life itself and it made me think about the phases of life and the changes in beliefs.
Although the book seemed very aware of current important subjects with poems on war and racism, I felt like the author frequently painted women in a negative light. As an example, I can point out the poem "Border Exchange" as it portrays the woman as the one who will surely betray the partner. Although this could be just another poem on love relationships and broken hearts or adults making their own choices about their love lives, after seeing the way women were portrayed in the poems before this one, I just had enough. I would like to add, though, that it doesn't seem intentional.
I would love to give the book a perfect rating as I loved the poems, the writing, and the subjects but because of the depiction of women throughout the book, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
The collection of poems is not focused on a single theme so I would recommend Best Evidence to readers that enjoy the poetry on a variety of subjects. I'd also recommend the book to people that want to read poetry but don't know how to begin, as the vocabulary is not complicated and the reading is smooth and easy to understand.
******
Best Evidence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon