Reviews for Uncommon Geography: Poems

The average rating for Uncommon Geography: Poems based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-07-09 00:00:00 Olegs Vasilenko I read this book after reading Therese Halscheid's later work, Frozen Latitudes, and I had to wonder, what happened? I reviewed that book as a read requiring I hurt along with her. But then I read this book, Uncommon Geography, which is much more full of, let's say "mystical phrasing" that brought a modicum of joy to what in the other book was always a bleak terrain. So I ask again, what happened to her between 2006 and 2014 that turned her language to something less playful, more pedestrian, and, frankly, less fun? I guess I'll have to investigate. But this is a review of this funner book, which takes us into the lives of not just this wounded poet, but into the days and events of interesting people she met along the way. To be sure, there are still those poems which reveal her attachment to life's lacerations, such as "The Great Mirror," a poem that begins (ironically) "When it has had enough / of our thoughts / the earth's silence ends..." But then there are others, such "Nights Here," in which she speaks of the courage of Alaskan natives "to manage the deepest darkness / how the kept standing.." Sure, Halscheid's still overtly conscious of the crap life dumps upon the head, but much more optimistic. So, in a simple sentence, I can say "I like this book better." But then there is that weighty, freighted next book lying ahead, and I am returned to wondering, "What happened?" And I have to ask, "Is that even a fair question?" Lastly, who is Barbara De La Questa, and why is she listed on Goodreads as the author of this book? Somebody? Anybody?

Review # 2 was written on 2008-03-17 00:00:00 Kiko Paris Poet Therese Halscheid wrote these poems while housesitting in various places thoughout, from an elk farm in Pennsylvania to shanties on a Florida swamp, from Provincetown beach homes to New Mexican pueblos. In each of these places she finds a connection with the natural world. Her work is at its best in poems like "If For a Time the Sky and Ground Traded Places." If you are a person who seeks out solitude at times; if you can see yourself sitting in the woods leaning against a tree reading, these poems are for you.