My Goodreads Review of Eye Level by Jenny Xie

After this long hiatous of mine where I've been staggering alone in the wilderness, I'm making my way back to civilization. This review is just to get me back on the road. I really wish I was in a better frame-of-mind to analyze these poems, but that I was able to write any thing at all on it is a miracle. I'm honestly ambivalent on the book, but I can't quite pick-up why. I also use the word "interesting" a lot in this review: my apologies up-front.



Eye Level: Poems by Jenny Xie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I've grown lean from eating only the past." - Line 9 of "Corfu"


I was supposed to have read this book in–at most–two weeks and then review it, but I ran out of inertia emotionally and spiritually and after almost 2.5 moths away I have finally finished it. This is an interesting book. It is the personal recollections of the author on her life and travels and of the writer. While it did not leave me speechless, it has a lot of good lines in it. I can't remember how I discovered this book, but I had been curious about reading it for awhile. Though I suppose the book is relevant given the news of the past year, it is an interesting travel diary/meditation all its own.

"Look at how I perform for you

Look at how you perform for me

An eye for an eye
is how you and I
take on forms in the mind" - stanza 13 of "Visual Orders"

I am always impressed at how poets are able to use words to create the scene in your mind's eye. The "mind's eye" is what this book is quite literally about and the poet makes references to the title throughout the book. Xie is looking back somberly on her life on the road and is put between nostalgia and melancholia (literally has a poem with that name). She thinks of her time as an immigrant in New York City's Chinatown and her travels throughout Southeast Asia great detail.

I hope I can convey that this is an interesting book to read for someone who likes to read poetry of different people's experiences. I know I am not doing a great job at describing the book because I am still a little bit rusty with my reviewing skills after 2 months. This was an interesting look at a life that could not be more different than my own. And did I mention it has a lot of good quotes.

As a bonus here is Jenny Xie's music poetry video for her poem "Chinatown Diptych": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2vUq...

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