Thaw is Chelsea Dingman's inaugural poetry collection. In these poems, the author talks about violence, abuse, death, loss and grief; about family and childhood, about being a daughter, and about growing up and becoming an adult and a mother; about the hauntingly beautiful landscapes she travels through and lives in (against...?), across Canada and Scandinavia; and about country, citizenship and kinship. Her language is raw but streamlined, highly descriptive and evocative, drawing us into the poem and placing us exactly at its centre.

Not knowing what we are going to find inside, the first poem in the book immediately takes our breath away, beginning with the first sentence and carrying it on to the very last. And, I dare say, it sets the tone for the collection, while illustrating the strength of Dingman's voice, and its absolutely clarity.

I particularly like the way Dingman approaches her themes. Her voice may appear at first soft, and at times seemingly infused with an inner anger and deep sorrow, permeated as these poems are with the author's own brand of imagery, until you linger a bit more over the lines themselves, or the very meanings hiding in them. It is then you realise the strength in these poems' voice, and its amazing clarity.

This book is a journey through a life, and it shows: a life that has been lived the best it could, a life that has seemingly been a quest for meaning and closure, and which has had its ups and downs, its tragedies and its joys, its sorrows and its own measure of happiness.

Semantically, these poems are exquisite. I've read a few poetry books this year, but none like Chelsea Dingman's. Her poetry is extremely accomplished and evocative, and the metaphors will reverberate inside you for a long time after you read it. I was so haunted (in a good way, it's good - no, it's excellent when poetry 'haunts' you!) by its language that I decided to sit the review out and reread the book at a later date. Which I now have. And I feel exactly the same way about it. It's the highest praise I can possibly give: if you read one poetry book this year, please please make it Dingman's Thaw. You won't regret it, I promise you.

I had never read Dingman's poetry before. The themes found within these pages were not light, but I loved the various settings and the fact that her treatment of nature had shades of Mary Oliver. I look forward to reading more poems by her and to other books in the National Poetry Series.

Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I typically enjoy modern poetry but this felt..over exaggerated? I just felt like it was too metaphorical for my taste. Others may enjoy this, but it wasn't for me.

Another book of poetry I have enjoyed where words carry you to other places and briefly trap you in their light.
There is much to enjoy here with ideas captured in bold similes and graphic situations. Full of the world of nature. The power of the weather, the vast sky and the changing presence of water.
Reflecting the seasons, and the harshness of life with the pain of relationships, loss and death.
I enjoyed a number of poems, but the quality here could mean my favourites will change on a second reading. The book falls into two parts and I will focus on part 1 to allow yourself to better enjoy the whole.
'The Last Place' stood out for me and I'll quote from others to give you a taste. A number of lines could illustrate my point but Chelsea's femininity struck in in these lines. 'Daughter, Released "That I have to find what comes from darkness before anything good can stay"; one from part 2 'Prayer for an Unnamed Child' "I want to be a man, forget my womb "; 'Borderlands' "...September's teeth in my mother's knees. " and 'In Ten Years' "she waits for people she no longer knows,"
And from the world of nature these great lines: ''Sirens' " I held the wind in my throats like a song" and 'After the Tornado, Summer 1989' "I scratch the mud soaked earth with a stick until it bleeds water"
My final thought is read more poetry please.

Highly repetitive, both in terms of the subject matter of the poems (car crash, dead child, abusive men), the voice (relentless first person) and even word choice (slits, Winter, leaves). They didn't have the feel of well managed repetitions, or repetitions with variation that you'd expect in a themed collection like this. It just felt samey all the way through, which was particularly unfortunate as the tone of the poems is rather uninspired and linguistically unthrilling.

All that sounds a bit harsh, the individual poems are perfectly competent 3 star poems. But as a collection this was a low 2 stars. Wouldn't recommend.

(3.5 stars) Published via the National Poetry Series in 2016, this is a brooding, atmospheric collection full of stormy weather and the threat of violent loss. A father dies in a trucking accident; a mother struggles with mental illness; an unborn child is addressed with only tentative hope (“Can I give you tomorrow / when I’ve lost hold of today?”). I loved the book’s alliteration (“Retreating rock ruins my knees … roses running ramshackle” in “Prayer of the Wolf”), but found the metaphorical range a little limited – for instance, “blade” appears as a symbol four times – and the lowering mood rather claustrophobic. “Ancestry” and “Hiraith” are highlights. [The Grammar Nazi couldn’t help but note that “lay(s)” is used instead of the correct “laid” or “lie(s)” in about eight cases.]

Thaw

Poems



by Chelsea Dingman

University of Georgia Press

Poetry

Pub Date 15 Sep 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Thaw through University of Georgia Press and Netgalley:

Poetry is one of the most difficult subjects to Review as they in the most cases by their very definition are personal, spelling out, thoughts and emotions.

This collection of poetry is raw and the poems herein tare at your very soul, some of these poems deal with the death, including the loss of children. It deals with molestation, suicides, hits and runs, this short collection of poetry is not short on its impact.

The books in this collection by Chelsea Dingman alternates from her childhood and adulthood paralleling her life as a child to that of her children, it speaks not only of sorrow and loss, but of determination and overcoming.

I give Thaw five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

This might be one of the best books of story telling in poetry format that I've read since Diane Gilliam Fisher published <i>Kettle Bottom</i> in 2004. It was beautifully written, and I loved the change of pace from childhood to adult/motherhood. This book really delves deep into family issues such a loss, poverty, and even darker subjects that people sometimes prefer to skirt around. Her writing is exquisite, and I loved her descriptive way of really putting you into the moment. I would love to read more by this author in the future, and I hope she released future poetry collections down the line!

Overall an effective collection of poetry. I felt like it really started with an especially strong poem and maintained a decent level of good writing throughout.

Thaw is a debut poetry collection by Chelsea Dingman, a collection about loss, violence, and poverty, abuse, and family. It is a deeply emotional collection, one that hits you right in the gut. Alternating between childhood and adulthood, being a mother and being a child, Dingman skillfully uses her surroundings and environment as a projection of her soul; her thoughts and herself are deeply affected by the different environments she finds herself into, with her mind working almost as a mirror of her surroundings.

Her line breaks do not necessarily follow her sentences, a characteristic of her art that separates her from other artists. Her themes, her narrative, even the way she chooses to show her story make her unique and irreplaceable. Dingman and her work made me realize, once again, how much I love free verse poetry. I actually believe it’s harder to write than regular poetry (the one that actually rhymes), and I find it much more satisfying. Its inner rhythms and pacing can be manipulated into making you feel angry, sad, even happy, nostalgic or euphoric. It has a certain strength and power within it that I admire, and I found Dingman’s work to be a prime example of modern free verse poetry. Definitely an artist I’ll keep an eye out for.

Thaw: Poems by Chelsea Dingman is the poet’s first published collection. Dingman teaches at the University of South Florida. She is originally from British Columbia, Canada. Dingman has lived in four countries and countless cities in North America. She currently resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband and two small children.

Dingman’s collection of poetry centers on the poet’s relationship as a mother and daughter. With that being said, most of the poetry was outside of my male range of interest being neither mother or daughter nor even a having a daughter. Despite the subject matter, I saw something amazing in the writing. Although appearing as neatly formed lines and stanzas, Dingman manages to work line breaks and stanzas in a creative manner. Several times, I saw a stanza end with a word, or perhaps a phrase, that seemed to end the line. Although it physically ends one line it also served as the beginning of the next. The single word performed a double duty. It is almost reflective in nature.

…Great pines resting their heads
against the sky. The colours

at dawn, sweet chill in the summer
grass before early snows. When I return,
…
— “Revenant”

“The colours” seems to draw the reader back the green of the pines against the blue of the sky and at the same time taking the reader to the violet, blue, red, and yellow of dawn. She repeats that again with the next line with a morning chill, even in summer, and summer grass.

Not all the poems carry that particularly feminine theme I mentioned above. There are poems of loss and death as well as poems that reflect a connection to nature. Although not particularly my type of poetry, the writing style and use of the written form kept me reading and searching for new discoveries. This is a collection where poetic form captured and held my attention rather than the topic.

Thaw is a truly lovely collection of works. The author eloquently refines our existence by empowering nature's blessings to describe and protect us.

I really enjoyed some of the poems in this collection. Looking forward to more.