Crushing It (Book Review)

Crush - Richard Silken B-


Published: April 2005

Some have described this book as a cult classic. I have seen so many good reviews of this book I feel like I should like it more than I did. Reading the poems over and over is not just a suggestion, it's a requirement with Richard Siken's award winning debut, Crush. These poems pulled me in, disenchanted me, and pulled me in again. Crush didn't dazzle me as a whole; however, there are moments of pure mastery-

"Tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies out of the lake/ and dress them in warm clothes again./ How it was late, and no one could sleep, the horses running/ until they forget that they are horses." ~From the opening poem, "Scheherazade"

What I admire most about these poems is their ability to feel so damn emotionally vulnerable. As I revisit them in the near future, I hope to peel back the layers I initially missed because my expectations were so high.

Favorite poems include: "Scheherazade," "Driving, Not Washing," "Visible World," and "Dirty Valentine"