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This is a discussion topic for the November 2023 Book of the Month, Artwords by Beatriz M. Robles

Did you understand every poem in this book?

No, I did not. I'm not finished reading the whole book, but there are a few that I will have to go back and re-read.

Absolutely, the language of the poems in Artwords was clear, so I grasped the basic meaning of the words. However, poetry often operates on a deeper level of interpretation and emotion. My personal interpretations might vary widely from the author's intent, as each reader brings their own experiences to the verses, which can alter the meaning or impact for them. It's the beauty of poetry – it speaks differently to each of us.

I'm still reading it. But I think that I have to digest some of them. The provoking language used makes me think. With the visual appealing makes me re-read a couple of poems and process them.

Initially, I found some of the highlighted poems a bit confusing to follow; however, once I learned the style, I found it quite impressive.

The language is clear enough, however sometimes I struggle with poem and pacing. I read quite fast and often miss the subtle rhymes or nature of them.

Most poetry is difficult for me to understand, so no. To be honest, if this had not been a BOTD and BOTM I would not have even picked it up. I wish that the meanings of lots of poetry didn’t go so far over my head.

I think "understand" is hard. I think everyone will have their interpretation based on life experiences. That's why I like to read and re-read to capture most different perspectives.

The literal meaning was easy to understand because the language is simple, but I cannot say I interpreted the poems the same way other readers did. Poetry is personal, emotional, and open to interpretation, and that is what makes books like Artwords amazing.

The redactive poems were the hardest for me. Those are the ones that other words were either blackened out or the words that the author wanted you to read, were circled. It took me reading a few of them to get the hang of it. Once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the poems.

Understand as a word here is so vague. All our life experiences differ so I expect everyone to understand the poems differently.

Though, I'm in the process of reading it, the clarity of the language is apparent. Nevertheless, I find myself occasionally grappling with the poem's pacing. I anticipate that once I complete it, the meaning will become clearer to me.

Yes I understood all the poems and enjoyed the fact that the author twisted the subject matter. A poem gives you a weird and spooky idea in your head when it's starting but towards the end, it ends up being about the object on which its written and not the spooky idea you had in mind.

I would say that 'understanding' is entirely subjective to when you read it, and never permanent. The beauty of poetry, and reading as a whole, is that we as readers take something different out of the text each time we go over it.

Our brains scientifically stop developing around 25 or so, and even then our experiences as we age provide a new perspective in a slow and gradual process for the rest of our lives. So, I would say that my first run-through gave me something beautiful and meaningful to think about now, but Roble's themes are so widely applicable and general in their application that there is a rather infinite space of interpretation left to have.

So is the beauty of literature and why we continue studying the same texts over and over because they're truly never done teaching us something.

I found some of them fairly self-explanatory, but for others, I struggled a bit. Poems are also open to interpretation - they carry different meanings for everyone. I must say, though, I found the pacing and imagery to be quite well done in Artwords.