Flourescence

Starting Fluorescence by Jennifer K. Dick, I tried very hard to have a good attitude about being back in poetry. Once I got into it some more, I noticed it wasn't monotonous poetry, where each poem looks and reads the same, and doesn't have a significant or distinguishable meaning.

From the second poem "What holds the body" (maybe?) starting on page 4, I knew it was going to be a little different. Making "orange" the single word on page 5 is a weird choice, I think. She uses several colors here (blue, white, cobalt, etc.) so what made her choose orange to pull out? It's not even the first one mentioned (which is blue). I think it's a cool technique to use, but I'm not sure if this is exactly the best use of it?

As it goes further, she changes up the way her poems look. This is important. It's hard to read several of the same "look" of poem (what is the word for that…) in a row, so it's nice that she breaks it up. She usually writes paragraphs of 4-6 lines, then breaks them up with shorter paragraphs, 1 or 2 lines each. This is particularly evident in "Anatomy" on page 12. Pages 43-53 are mostly single paragraph short shorts…but then she throws "Sighted" and "I want to take back"on pages 47 and 51 to pull us off balance and thinking about reading again. Don't wanna get stuck in a reading rut, now do we?

Each poem tells a story. They're not necessarily coherent stories, and they all sort of go together better than they stand alone. The poems on pages 43-53 make mention of (the same?) small girl, helping to create a larger picture of who she is.

I like that she included the Notes and Credits section on page 89…writing is all about stealing and giving credit for it.