New Collection of Poetry from Margaret Atwood: DEARLY

by Susan Roberts

"If there were no emptiness, there would be no life.

Think about it." (loc 234)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

November 2020; Ecco; 978-0063032491
audio, ebook, print (144 pages); poetry

Dearly is Margaret Atwood's first collection of poetry in over a decade.  I have read many of her fiction books, notably The Handmaid's Tale and Cat's Eye but never knew that she is also a well-known poet.  Here is what Amazon says about this current volume of poetry: Atwood addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature, and - zombies. Her new poetry is introspective and personal in tone, but wide-ranging in topic. In poem after poem, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived.

Many years ago when I was in college, I enjoyed reading poetry but in the years since I've read very little poetry. This book has changed my mind. I loved it. Like with any collection, some poems were just ok but the majority of these were fantastic and I really enjoyed reading them.  Most of the poems are short and Atwood has chosen every word carefully to help not only the cadence of the poem but more importantly the underlying theme.  Some of the poems made me smile and some of them made me cry but most of them made me think and feel.  

I was gifted this book in ebook format but plan to buy a copy in hardcover so that I can keep it on my bookshelf and read some of the poems over and over.

Buy Dearly at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. Since her travel plans had to be canceled for this year, she is starting to make plans for travel in 2021. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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