Book Review #6

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 Book Review

The Siren World

Written by Juan J. Morales


  Now, I must admit, I have a slight bias with this author. I got to meet him and have him sign my copy in Colorado Springs a few years back. I also got to be in many classes that he taught at my university (I will not say which specific one, but it doesn't take too much digging to figure out.) which was a delightful experience. 

  With that in mind, this collection of poetry is one of my favorites. There was so much to take in between the poems themselves and how I felt in the moment to the poems that I had to grab a pen and my notebook. A lot of what I experienced fell into a series of dualities, which is an odd experience for me. What made it odd was how familiar it felt to me, even though I never wrote any of the poems. This concept of dualities is something I enjoy and wish to explore more of in writing or media of any time, but it is rarely given enough attention to make it interesting. In The Siren World, it really goes into the ideas without speaking more than a handful of lines at a time. 

  My personal favorite duality explored in it is the balancing act between personal experience and familial history, whether passed down orally or gained in a shared experience. This is more expressed in the second part of the book, but you can find it dotted in the first part as well. I think I find this duality to be my personal favorite because -just as I find dualities intriguing- I find this particular duality a subject of reflection and introspection in my own life right now. This idea that my personal experience is shaped by the same influence that it shapes is something that continues to puzzle me and test the limits of how much influence I wield in familial history and tradition for my family. Can I recall the stories of my father, or the antics of my mother? Am I truly shaped by them? Have I changed them when I retell the stories to other members of my family or even friends? It is truly something I can spend hours thinking about when I should be devoting that time to writing and ... maybe some video games? I am not entirely sure what else. 

  The other duality that really interests me comes up in the first part of the poetry collection. This duality is between history as it is presented compared to history as it actually is. I think this is because a lot of what is going on in recent memory (and by that, I mean the last three months) have circled around the idea of history not being as honest as it needs to be for the sake of accuracy and clarity.

  To end my review, I would like to point you to my favorite poem of the entire book. The one I enjoy hearing every time he reads it at a live reading: "What I Said One Time When A Woman Called Me Jose." That poem builds up into a wonderful ending that I cannot truly express enough glee and amusement for in any form. If I ever find a clip of him reading it aloud, I will gladly post a link to it. It is without a doubt one of the poems you will want to hear spoken. It is a good poem to read still; his voice and his attitude definitely make it a thousand times better. 

  If you would like a copy of this, I would highly recommend it. Click on this sentence to go directly to the press site to get a copy! I think it would really make his day! (On a sidenote, please click here to check out his latest book. I hear it is super good; I will admit, I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet.)

  I hope all of you have a wonderful day and rest of your week! 

Animus

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