How to Maintain Eye Contact features a large number of snapshot moments immortalized into poems- glimpses into the life and heart of Robert Wood Lynn.

I won't do the disservice of giving this book less than 4 stars, as I believe the poems are genuinely well written; however, I was often left with the impression that I've just read someone's diary and am missing most of the context. Maybe it's my fault, and I'm just not skilled with reading and interpreting poetry, but I don't believe that was the case most of the time.

I could see how some might enjoy this collection, but I had a hard time connecting with the content. Always worth a try, though! You never know which body of work might catch you by surprise!

4.5/5
The cover is what caught my eye, but the writing is beyond what I expected! I’m pleasantly surprised that a book I randomly decided to check out because I had time and it looked fun became one of my favorites, if not my favorite, poetry book. The writing is unique, relatable, and honest. I didn’t have trouble trying to find the meanings behind most of the poems, but they weren’t obvious either. It was pretty much perfect!

Thank you to Netgalley!

Unfortunately most of these went over my head, but this collection still could be a good read for people with a different taste in poetry than mine. The cover and title are really eye-catching, so that's a plus. I'll definitely come back to some of the poems in the future, to see if maybe I view them differently.

To be fair, I don't really like rating poetry or autobiography/memoir books. It seems like I'm rating the experiences of the author, their life or their pain and whatnot.
However, I decided to get out of my comfort zone just this once and try asking Netgalley for a poetry collection, and it was delivered; so now I've got to reap the fruits I sow.

I didn't really care this collection, it was "fine" but mostly generic. And when I start thinking of a book as "fine" there are bound to be some problems.
There were some poems I quite liked - those would be [In Praise of Lying to Children Specifically, At the Coffeeshop on Rogers, I Keep Having This False Memory, Hearts is a Card Game for Exactly Four People, Opportunity] - but reading through the others mostly felt as reading poems written just for the sake of it. I also saw twice references to poems or quotes by other people thrown there in the text (and I'm not talking about the interstices), that I know other people aren't going to notice nor care about, but I do and I'm not a fan of it.
(Mind you, poetry is subjective. What I find appealing isn't going to be the same my friends will like or dislike. I have my tastes and my experiences, so I'm not saying this book isn't for anyone.)

Sometimes I'm in the mood for books that get the point across, other times I prefer ones that take longer to get there - spinning a tale around the point - to never get there at the end and say explicitly what it was all about.
But this one felt like it was trying to be both at the same time - and I didn't even get the point.

This book of poetry is kind of like reading a melancholic mid-life crisis. I enjoyed many of the poems relating to stories detailing the human condition, life and death, honesty, loss, and consequences of life.

I love poetry, and also regularly buy and read - albeit the classic - collections. (W.H. Auden, Emily Dickenson, Rilke, Hölderlin, et al.), so when this poetry bundle appeared on Netgalley, I seized the opportunity to read the work from a poet unknown to me.
I have to admit, initially it was the beautiful cover that drew me in. The bundle embraces various themes, from loneliness and tea bags to climate problems, sometimes longing for the return to the days of yore, with sounds and rituals that indicated the rhythm of the day, since our world now seems silenced by the internet, cellphones, whatsapp and boredom. I especially liked the poem about the gongs and the bells. Others appealed to me less.
I think the title refers to the poet’s frustration with the world dying of misery, boredom and people being glued to their stupid cellphones and internet screens all day long.

Interesting collection, not for everyone, but I kind of liked it.
3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for introducing me to modern poetry.
This opinion is my own.

ARC given by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
My favourite poem out of this collection was "on the way home from the hospital". I loved the narrative of the poem. It was also one of the only poems that I understood what was actually kind of happening.

Although some of the terminology used in this book of poetry is beautiful i had a very hard time understanding it and resonating with it. I'm giving it 2 stars purely because I just wasn't sure what was happening and it wasn't my taste in poetry. Someone else might like it but it just was not for me.

I won't lie, I picked this up not knowing anything about it, other than that it has a great cover and a title that speaks to me on a personal level.

Reviewing and rating poetry always makes me feel slightly guilty. For one reason or another, a poem always reads like a raw piece of the poet on paper, and who am I to judge that? Yet here we are.

Personally, most poetry I've read hasn't been for me. I never studied how to dissect a poem properly, and so I usually find most poems either too challenging, or too simple and tumblr-y. I recognize that there is no such thing as a good or a bad poem, because there's an audience for everything, but for my personal preference most modern poetry is just not something I'm looking for.

Having said all that, this collection was apparently in just the perfect Goldilocks zone for me. I didn't burst a blood vessel in my brain trying to decode the text, but it also wasn't trite and obvious like some of the pop poetry that's been published in the past decade.

These poems are relatable in that they deal with the shared, everyday experiences most of us have, but does it in a way that slightly shifts the perspective, or shines a light on an aspect often left in the sidelines. Very refreshing.

Well written, captivating, and overall a great read. This collection will be one I can recommend to so many people because Robert Wood Lynn does a great job at capturing the feeling of being human in the 21st century with elegance and ease. A quick read, but engaging nonetheless. Fans of Neil Hilborn, Andrea Gibson, and Karyna McGlynn will enjoy the long form poems and the cultural references.

My favorite poems are: "Prayer For Mr. Armand Palakiko", "Oppurtunity", and "As Always."

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Written in an interesting stream of conciousness format, this was an insightful and real examination of life and the struggle so many of us face.

How to Maintain Eye Contact was a great poetry book that brought in a lot of aspects in life. It was very well written and I respect Lynn as a modern poet. That being said, this book was not my favorite, but I think it had more to do with me than the novel itself. I wasn't really able to connect with the pieces the way I usually am with poetry and that disconnect made it harder for me to enjoy it. It was a fine novel and one piece specifically stood out to me and that was 'On My Way Home From the Hospital.' This was my absolute favorite from the book and the one I connected with the most. Overall, a great poetry book and one that I am sure a lot of people will enjoy.

Lynn is a modern poet. With a clear voice that wipes away the dirt and holds a mirror to morality, How To Maintain Eye Contact has accomplished something magical. Lynn darkly romanticizes everyday life, and reminds us all to look deeper and longer at what might make us uncomfortable. The stories, like one of my personal favorites Prayer For Mr. Armand Palakiko, are sweeping narratives of the human experience. The three different sections make what could read like a death march instead so digestible and tangible, again speaking to how smart Lynn is as both a writer and a fellow human. This is my favorite poetry book to date. An absolute must read for lovers of poetry and those who despise it. Either way- it will shift your perspective on the world around you.

How to Maintain Eye Contact is a beautiful collection of poems about loss, grief, disconnection, uncertainty, loneliness... in short, the things that scare most of us down to the very core of our beings, the feelings we don't let ourselves acknowledge or even feel completely lest they pull us under. There is a slight emotional distance to Robert Lynn Wood's writing, as if he's physically removed a painful old memory from the body and is holding it up to the light to examine its contours. I'm truly pleased to have had the opportunity to read this book.

As with any collection of works, there are always some that resonate more with the individual reader than others. This book is no different. Throughout, there are pieces that are profound and poignant, ones that either explore a point that the reader can connect with or that feature compelling, lyrical writing. Others are just fine.

Most utilise a narrative tone, but all combine such mundane aspects of life that the result is abnormal. It's a fascinating insight into the commonplace.

However, the voice is strongly American, which is harder to comprehend and empathise with as a British reader. As such, some of the humour and touches of sadness are not conveyed.

It was a nice collection of poems about the everyday life. The poems were very well written but they did not resonate with me. I think I would have liked it more if I was an American. I loved the humour and sadness and I think my favourite poem was "Prayer for Mr. Armand Palakiko". I still enjoyed the collection and will look out for more of the author.

Thank you to Robert Wood Lynn, Button Poetry and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Capella, imagine how beautiful the strangers reading us will be."

This poetry collection was a sharp, deeply vulnerable and semi-detached/ semi-diagnostic observation of human emotion in social situations. Themes of loneliness, restlesness and yet content were woven through beautiful typography and imagery, each poem a story as well as a single thought, vague and precice, foreign and personal. There was humour to the cleverness of it all, and sadness to the beauty.
To me it captured the pandemic sentiment of looking at life from a different angle, not directly in the eye, but at the stillness and micromovements, the clearest distinction between death and life.
I really enjoyed reading through it, and surely will revisit the book, for there were many verses that spoke to me on a deeper level.

Beautiful poetry. Just couldn’t connect with the message. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed a handful of these poems (specifically Prayer for Mr. Armand Palakiko, The Heartbeat Hypothesis and After), but I didn’t really connect with the collection on the whole. I’d still say it’s worth a read as others might connect more or differently, but I don’t see myself coming back to the majority of these poems again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for the advanced reader copy.

This collection wasn't bad, in fact the poems were really well-written but overall they just didn't resonate with me. There were a couple that stuck with me though - On Account 0f Getting his Leg Broke by New York City, The Heartbeat Hypothesis, After All the Unpleasantness, and Arms have Something to Say for Themselves. Would still give the author's other work a shot!

A good collection of poetry about day to day life.

Although this collection didn't resonate with me it was a funny, ironic and sad look at things that happen in our lives that rarely cross our minds.