Nick Flynn’s Some Ether (Graywolf Press, May 2000) was his first collection of poetry. I read it based on a recommendation from a friend of mine who is a poet. I was coming off of a long Yeats binge and was wondering what was being read by the people writing poetry, and this was one of ten collections he suggested.
This is a dark collection based on several themes, but almost always coming back to the event of his mother’s suicide. The latter portion of the collection deals with Flynn’s homeless father. But the weight of the material doesn’t cripple the collection. Flynn’s not really taking any cheap shots at you. Sentimentality is risked and earned. The dark themes are honest so they’re not thin. The imagery is well-crafted. The collection is not cumbersome and it’s not too long. Thanks Mr. Flynn.
-Hunter
Comments are closed.