The World Is Round

Rating:
Summary: Round
Review: I read all of the poems in the book and I had mixed feeling about many of them. I am sure the Nikky Finney is a great poet because of all of her recognition, but I could not understand some of the poems. I put this problem off on myself however, being a person that does not read poetry frequently. For a beginner trying to learn how to write and understand poetry some of the poems were a little difficult for me. All of the poems did however, have a flow to them, and they sounded nice. They were just hard for me personally to understand. I am sure that for someone that has more experience with poetry, the collection of poems would have been wonderful and perhaps even moving. I did enjoy some of the poems such as "Hate", "Assam", and "Sign Language".

Rating:
Summary: Finney takes you there
Review: In "The World is Round" Nikki Finney takes you to a place of universal understanding. Her poetry brings you to the emotional state that puts you in her shoes. Poems like Mean Nina and The New Medicine stir up feelings even the most novice readers and poets are sure to relate to. From cover to cover, her words dance on the pages creating images for us to see and feel.

Rating:
Summary: Book review
Review: In her new book of poetry and prose, The World is Round, Nikky Finney glimpses into the human ventures of birth, death, family, work, murder, sexuality, and worth. Each entry sheds a progressively brighter light on the book's overarching theme: the propensity of the universe to replace itself in continuous cycles. As we sadly read in "My Old Kentucky Home," a poem about a black teenager's death by gang violence and his disengaged mourners, some of these cycles have self-destructive qualities. Another entry, Hurricane Beulah, considers familial cycles in the form of short story. We watch the author sit patiently in a Salvation Army store as her aging Grandmother Beulah wanders down every aisle. We're in the same room as the poet when her grandmother passes, and we understand their relationship. In the poem "Mean Nina," recompense is presented as the cycle of justice, as Finney lies to a vegetating aunt, telling her that evil will not go unpunished. The World is Round is a celebration of the many facets of humanity. It is unique because it enlarges everyday occurrences and casts them onto the larger canvas of life.