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A review by theresidentbookworm
The Anatomy of Being by Shinji Moon
5.0
I used to be a reader that couldn't stand poetry. I would always say, "Why don't they just say what they mean?" At 13, 14, 15, I just couldn't understand the point of poetry. Now, at almost 19, I can appreciate it. Now I know that sometimes you just don't have the words for what you want to say or even know what you mean. Poetry is there to express what you can't just plainly say. It makes you dig inside your heart, your brain, and figure it out. When I read poetry now (good poetry, at least), a few lines or even a whole poem will jump out at me and rattle my bones. Sometimes it makes me laugh, and sometimes it makes me pause and think. Age (and listening to Dear Hank and John, the Green brothers' comedy podcast that isn't really a comedy podcast but does always feature a short poem) has taught me how to appreciate poetry. Shinji Moon's first poetry collection The Anatomy of Being, however, has taught me how to properly love it.
What I really love about The Anatomy of Being is that it is honest in a way you can only be about love and life when you're 19. This is clearly poetry by someone who has been young and in love and heartbroken and put back together. Her verse is fresh and beautiful and honest in a way that is never mean. I liked how the collection was split up into four chapters, each with a general theme related to the body: skin, bone, flesh, and the soul. I did like the poems more in the third and fourth chapters of the collection, but I starred poems all throughout the book. I don't believe there's any wrong way to read poetry, but I like to star the poems I like so I can go back to them later. Some of my favorites included Parenthetical Love, This Is What Distance Does, What It Took to Understand, and Here is What Our Parents Never Taught Us. It was just a stellar collection overall though. I highly recommended The Anatomy of Being for anyone who loves contemporary poetry or someone who is looking for a way into poetry. I'm glad to have this as my first book of the year.
What I really love about The Anatomy of Being is that it is honest in a way you can only be about love and life when you're 19. This is clearly poetry by someone who has been young and in love and heartbroken and put back together. Her verse is fresh and beautiful and honest in a way that is never mean. I liked how the collection was split up into four chapters, each with a general theme related to the body: skin, bone, flesh, and the soul. I did like the poems more in the third and fourth chapters of the collection, but I starred poems all throughout the book. I don't believe there's any wrong way to read poetry, but I like to star the poems I like so I can go back to them later. Some of my favorites included Parenthetical Love, This Is What Distance Does, What It Took to Understand, and Here is What Our Parents Never Taught Us. It was just a stellar collection overall though. I highly recommended The Anatomy of Being for anyone who loves contemporary poetry or someone who is looking for a way into poetry. I'm glad to have this as my first book of the year.