Rating: 
Summary: worth a read
Review: Some of the other reviewers were quick to bash Jewel's poetic abilities. But just as people appreciate different sorts of music, and different sorts of film, people can have vastly different tastes in poetry and literature or fiction.I applaud Jewel for putting herself out there. And yes, I liked many of the poems in the book. There's nothing wrong with disliking her work. I can respect those who feel that way. However I think that those individuals should have been a little less condescending. I am not a culture snob-- I wouldn't presume to tell anyone else that what they enjoy reading is trash if it works for them. What is good poetry anyway? Really? Is it something so obscure that 98% of the population can't understand it or wouldn't spend (waste?) their time trying to? Is it something that only intellectuals can understand? Who are you comparing her to -- and using what standards? Whose standards? This is not to say that Jewel is on his level, but don't forget that Melville was dismissed as a mediocre writer in his day. Thus, opinions on what is good and bad art are temporal. Some people enjoy Shakespeare and Yeats -- others prefer spoken word and poetry slams. I enjoy both. I think that the most important measure of art is how and if it affects those who view/read/hear it. It is easy to say that her work is horrible. But, could any of you do a better job? And even if you thought that you could, would you be brave enough to share it with the world?
Rating: 
Summary: Good effort from a musical poet
Review: Originally not a fan of Jewel, my first reading of this book swayed my opinion. My second readthrough allowed me a more skeptical look. I'll be one of the first to admit Ms. Klicher has talent, both musically and poetically, and this book highlights the good... and the not-as-good. Poetry, to many, has been sometimes about saying to hades with form or tradition, and apparently Jewel is a subscriber to the belief. But then again, poetry is about spilling one's emotion or soul onto the paper, so having poems as short as five lines or as long as two pages (of which she had both) are not abnormal. With this book we are allowed a look at the world through Jewel's eyes, and what we see is sometimes mysterious, sometimes wonderful, sometimes saucy and often beautiful. Among the impressive works are "1B", in which she quietly ponders the burn marks on the woman who is seated next to her; "Tai Pei" 1-3, in which she weaves some sort of ethereal web of words about loneliness and the strange beauty of her surroundings; "Paramount, NY, 9:34 AM", in which she makes waking up sound like one of the greatest things you can ever do; "I Look at Young Girls Now", in which she sees the newfound sensuality of teenaged girls and reflects on her own youth; and "Saved From Myself", in which we see a silent melody to sadness. Those are some standout examples of her works. There are no truly bad poems in her book, but there are some that don't shine as brightly as the others, but I'd have to recommend it to anyone with time to go sit under a shady tree and reflect, and delve into the world through the prose of Ms. Klicher.
Rating: 
Summary: a radiant piece of work
Review: beautiful, like the birth of stardust. as brave as a flowering cactus.
Rating:
Summary: Jewel can have a way with words..
Review: I bought this book of poetry from a favorite artist of mine, Jewel Kilcher, never knowing what to expect from her. Most poetry released by singers has been anything but extraodinary. Jewels is much better than dull but this doesnt surpass the level of amazement in her work. Some poems in her book I can never get enough of, but others seem to flutter images across the paper with no flowery launguage or meaning to it. One example is "Junkie"...'My mother says, she knows what im going to be when I grow up.' Short and as dull as pastille apartment walls. Bieng a poet myself I very often use metaphors expressing feelings not capable by the normality of words. In alot of the poems in 'A Night Without Armour" she does an excellent job of usuing beautiful art launguage as a sign of her poetic capabilities which shows the reason I gave this 4 stars. I read this book nearly every night because some poems striked a cord with me and the emotions she wrote down. Thus, I conclude that this book may not be jaw-dropping but I definitly recommend it for some very decent poetry; about calfs, Alaskan beauty, and other such things this so-called normal world can relate to.
Rating:
Summary: a reminder of how beutifull life is
Review: I love this book. people who say jewel is dumb are just jealous of how beutifull and poetish she is. why would anyone hate a beutaful book like this. I just don't understand it. why are people so mean and cruel when the world is so beutifull. There are so many beutifull things to cherrish in the world. even the things jewel talks about that aren't beautiful seem like they're beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: I would have picked zero stars if it was an option
Review: Sorry Jewel fans, but this book is bad. Worse than bad. A serious waste of the trees that were used to make the paper that went into this book. If you think this book is any good you need to consider the fact that you probably dropped out of community college because it was too hard, and if your father hadn't paid for your braces you wouldn't even have that waitressing job at TGIFriday's. I shutter to think of how many copies this book sold, because that number reflects only a fraction of the number of complete morons walking around today in the U.S. This book will some day be in exhibit right next to the New Kids On The Block Christmas Album in the museum of the downfall of the United States. And Jewel, if you're reading this, please do us all a favor and go back to living in that van in Alaska. The future depends on you.
Rating:
Summary: This is just sad
Review: Poe, Frost, e.e. cummings, Shakespeare, Shelley, Rimbaud, Baudelaire,Dickinson,Blake,all great and familiar poetic luminaries, all lighting the stage of life with their brilliance and creativity, illuminating our minds with their eternal brain stimulating art, even influencing languages and society, changing lives and inspiring others. I think Jim Morrison could be rated up here with these monumental cornerstones of Western society. But Jewel? Jewel?! I don't think so. Her poetry has become impossible..Impossible because its actually worse than her music. Something I believed existed entirely within the imagination. Her poetry reads like something scrawled by an overwrought angst ridden teeniebopper restless with the fleeting heart flutterings of the post puberty flatulence called infatuation but mistaken as "love". Bereft of intelligence or wisdom, creativity or ingenuity this can only be rated as "bad poetry". Very, very bad poetry. Laughably dimwitted, flighty and depressingly sad poetry. Sad because the English language in all of its nuances and complexities could be abused in such a way. Its a sad, sad world and Jewel's poetry sums it all up in a neat sad little bundled collection of scratched banality. Its sad that a group of trees had to die for this. This is just...sad.
Rating:
Summary: A genious with the written word...
Review: My favorite artist is Jewel. She has an amazing gift for putting together words. This gift is evident in her music and in her two books. This is an excellent book of poetry. I think her brashness and sense of wonder combined create the wonderful mood of this book. You'll find poems about love, humanity, fame, touring, and so much more. If you like Jewel- you'll like this. If you don't like Jewel... why not? If you're not sure about buying this book let me give a sample. The following is my favorite poem in the book and, yes, it is the entire poem. The title is "Shush": Can you imagine how quiet a plane crash would be if you were deaf?
How unbearably loud a rape? Buy this book! Its well worth it. Get her book of memoirs as well. Its called "Chasing Down the Dawn".
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: If you want to read good, accessible poetry that anyone can understand, check out Billy Collins. Don't waste your money on this book. Sure, it's poetry. You can call anything poetry. But it's bad poetry. The only reason this was published is because Jewel has a recognizable name and the publishers knew it would make money. Don't reward such blatant bastardizing of the word poetry by supporting their methods and buying this book. For every book out there like this, there's one less book by a good poet. We're already such a celebrity-ruled culture in every other respect, I hate to see the publishing industry go in that direction as well.
Rating:
Summary: A comparison seen
Review: Hi all. It was in 1966 or 67 that E. Collins introduced me to Trout Fishing in America... or did I introduce it to him? Too long ago.. just can't remember. I do remember that it was wonderful to read, intelligent and vastly different than anything I'd read before. You cannot (well, you can if you really want to) look for symbols to "decode" Brautigan, although, at first I tried to as well. Along about the time the Grateful Dead released American Beauty/Reality I imagined that "Trout Fishing in America" was cryptic for awareness of the underlying and hidden truth in the living experience of the world around us. As more books were published (what joyous discoveries at the bookstore) I realized that Brautigan really used words to *paint* analogs of how something made him feel, and he did so with great economy and genius... he made me feel these things too. Collins would say I rant on too long, and he's right. R. B. was a delightful and gifted communicator. I can read his words afresh each time, and still find images and engendered concepts which had not occurred to me at earlier readings. Either I'm slow, or he's timeless. Something I haven't seen mentioned here... another author who writes "Brautiganisms". I think I have found within the pages of 'a night without armor' Poems by Jewel - ISBN 0-06-107362-8 (paperback) Of course Jewel was born well before Richard died or I would be wondering... anyway have a leaf through next time you're in the bookstore. Anyway, for me, Brautigan paints emotional pictures that speak to me on all levels, and right from the first reading he made me aware of levels within myself I was hardly aware of before I read him. Boo Forever Spinning like a ghost
on the bottom of a
top,
I'm haunted by all
the space that I
will live without
you. (The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster) ...later Folks. Steve Scott.
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