If I Should Say I Have Hope

Lynn Melnick

“The title of Melnick’s stunning book is a microcosm of the poems within—the uncertainty of ‘if I should say’ followed by the defiance of ‘I have hope.’ Her poems follow moments of unmooredness (‘I am best / when I dabble in consciousness and a soundly / spinning room’) with blinding insight (‘You wouldn’t know happy if it kissed you on the mouth’)—tiptoeing followed by a kick to the head. On the melancholy-go-round of these poems, there’s a swan-seat for sadness but also a tiger called Beauty and a horse called Hope. The unexpected music and syntax of Melnick’s work will make you want to ride/read it again and again.”—Matthea Harvey

status	Copy #1 (6074): in
genre	Literature and Fiction » Poetry
publisher	YesYes Books
publish date	Dec 1, 2012
popularity	checked out 2 time(s)