Cover Image: Glimmerglass Girl

Glimmerglass Girl

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Member Reviews

Fantastic prose! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves great poetry! It is so hard to stand out in the world of poetry where every line is a rhyme of simple words like you, do, too, and through! It was refreshing to find poetry that actually tells a great story! Thank you for allowing me early access to this ARC!

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Thank you Finishing Line Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Glimmerglass Girl is a poetry collection which focus on women. Their struggles, dilemmas, relationship, love, abuse and alcoholism. The writing was whimsical and refreshing. Each poems may appear light and fantastical but it conveys a deep and serious message. These kinds of verses are challenging to analyse and to reflect on. Once I finished, I reread it in a gradual pace and I have troubles connecting to it. However, there are a few poems I liked: The Art of Loneliness, She Learns How to Disappear, Premise of the Heart, Blue Cadillac and Woman.

I'd like to thank my dear friend Shealea for recommending me this poetry collection. <3

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Glimmerglass Girl is a poetry collection that speaks to the modern woman and deals with many issues of the self. The collection is relatively short, so you have to sit with each poem to gain some insight into the meaning and emotion in conveys. Many of the poems are simple without much flowery language, so it is something that can be easily accessible for any type of poetry reader.

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I think this book just went entirely over my head, this writing style made it so difficult for me to read. I also just couldn't emotionally connect with this collection even though it centered around womanhood and self-reflection. The style in which it was written just felt like it needed more pauses, a place to breath while reading. Also some of the conclusions that the poems came to didn't really make sense to me, especially the poem on loneliness. I think the biggest thing lacking for me was that it didn't feel like there was a message throughout the book. It just felt like disparate poems that besides being about women didn't connect in any other way.
I do think this is a collection for somebody though. If maybe you aren't a fan of the simpler styles found in modern poetry or enjoy something that is more a stream of consciousness, I think the stylings of this book will really suit you. All in all while this collection wasn't personally for me I do think it is an intriguing set of poems that could appeal to a different audience.

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As a short collection of poems, Glimmerglass Girl was a quick read for me. With delightfully lyrical language, impactful images, and a sophisticated flourish under her arsenal, Holly Lyn Walrath offers a myriad of layered female experiences in a very limited number of pages. While I greatly enjoyed most of the pieces, my five favorites were Espejitos, Behind the Glass, Woman, Two Hundred Fifty-Seven, and The Art of Loneliness.

I cannot think of a better title for this book because a lot of the imagery depicted in the poems was shockingly vivid, and at times, graphically violent and fascinatingly morbid – yet, in spite of this, these images were still presented in an almost delicate, poignant manner. Additionally, no matter how dark and ominous the tone became, an underlying thoughtfulness was still palpable. As I read, I found myself constantly startled but above all else, intrigued and wanting to read numerous passages over and over again.

I was not a fan of the complementary artworks that accompanied some of the poems because they made the text more difficult to read. In addition to this, none of them made a lasting impression on me nor were they value-adding to my overall reading experience. Nonetheless, I was immensely fascinated by the text. There were more than a handful of poems I could interpret in more ways than one, which was pretty interesting. Glimmerglass Girl is definitely a haunting yet captivating collection that can easily provoke readers into speculating on the lived experiences of women as well as underlying notions of femininity.

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I received an ARC of this from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am always in search of new poetry and this collection intrigued me. I'd heard it was about womanhood and self-reflection and so I started to read. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with this collection. The voice and the pacing of the collection didn't engage with me and I didn't find the poems to be that memorable. That said, I do appreciate the author's style, it just wasn't for me.

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Small but well formed, this poetry anthology about what it means to be a woman contains some truly beautiful pieces, particularly for me " The Art of Loneliness " and "Premise of the Heart ". As a whole the collection was quite diverse, and some pieces were more easy to connect to than others, but each demonstrated a skill with imagery and wordcraft. The illustrations scattered throughout were also a nice touch. While there is a certain fragility in the imagery of the poetry, there is also an undeniable strength, and a sense of power. I could easily imagine that most readers will find something to connect to in this book.

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Generally a very well-written collection of poetry, exploring themes of being a woman. Even though that isn't something I share with the author I still found the scenes and images to be evocative and relateable. As a whole, an enjoyable poetry chapbook.

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Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.

This short poetry anthology dealt with the female identity in the modern world. Whilst I did appreciate its contents and liked the style used to portray this message, I found I lacked a complete emotional affinity with some of the poems contained here.

Anthologies are always hard to gauge a star rating for, as the varied contents will always produce a variety of responses in me. Some poems I read and reread, in awe of the wonderful prose and exultant in the emotion it exuded. With others I could only nod at the skilful use of words but feel no deeper emotion than that. But such is the way with anthologies. This was still wonderful and still profound, but void of the complete emotional marriage I presumed I would have with this collection, given the nature of the topics covered.

My favourite poems included:
Elegy for a Body
She Learns How to Disappear
Two Hundred Fifty-Seven
The Art of Lonliness

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A beautiful collection of poetry that shifts between reality and fantasy, hard and soft, feminine and masculine. Walrath breathes life into the mundane, making the peeling of an onion into something precise and moving, while also challenging our idea of femininity and womanhood as she examines what it is to be a woman. I will return to this collection again.

Some of my favourite lines:

“the crisp brown suits off of a pair of onions”
“drifting out over the lake whose surface was pinched as if by some invisible touch”
“We will look upon ourselves, whole and blinding”
“I wish this memory into dream. If I dream it enough, it frays thin, dies a ghost death easier than his”

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Thank you, Finishing Line Press for the ARC copy of Glimmerglass girl by Holly Warlath.

This chapbook is daring, raw and everything poetry dealing with feminine identity should be. I had a hard time pausing in between poems because each left me wanting more. But these poems are meant to be tasted and savored. They do leave an aftertaste that takes a couple of minutes to wear off, but it is the kind that is exciting and invigorating.

I especially loved "I Am Going To Find The Unicorns." The imagery is strong and in-your-face.
"I will kneel in the dirt and read leaves like ruins. I
will put mud in my mouth to taste dwarves."

The concise nature of chapbooks brings out the true impact of poetry as strong as this. I would love to read more from Holly, she has a new fan.

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I loved it ! I don't usually read poetry but I wanted to try this one ... I don't know ... It was so delightful and so well written . Everyone should read this short collection of poems .

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A chapbook of feminine writings with tales of fragile emotions that stir a whirlwind of strength. If read by a male mind, he may feel closer to knowing the heart of a woman. When a woman reads these poems, she may feel they were written for her.

It was impossible for me to stop reading until I had finished the last poem. Then I was sorry to see it over. I truly wanted more of this writing style.

The author tells secrets. She dares to say it. Life expects us to play nice and these poems felt like an outlet. Each poem meant something very deep and very personal to me.

While reading, I was reminded of things I do not need and the things that mean the most. What should be cherished. What can be let go.

In this wonderful book of poetry, the mundane is art.

Taking a note from one poem in particular, “I AM GOING TO FIND THE UNICORNS”. The entire piece is surreal yet hits me. It screams and sets things straight with “Blood and horns and teeth.” It is a beautiful way to thumb your nose to the world and carry on as one may see fit.

This poetry is not typical. The art following each poem makes this book a beautiful illustration.

The stories are told quickly. Being short and to the point, the point is driven hard and deep.

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Thank you so much to Finishinglinepress via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of Glimmerglass girl by Holly Warlath. This will be released on August 3rd of 2018.

Glimmerglass girl ⭐️
This is a collection of poetry of sorts. Its not the typical collection. Its more like very short short stories.
There is artwork within and helps bring the shorts to life.

Favorite poems
In rejoice of kindred grief
Behind the glass
Elegy for a body
She leanrs how to disappear

Favorite quotes
“With sadness like no tomorrow”
“We talked about the future which seemed to end in may”
“I take up ashes like taking up space”
“I spilt myself apart”
“Human she is not quite”
“Our bones hollow fingertips into feather”

It was unique and beautiful. So many different concepts and points of view. This was not just one thing. It also has many different styles of poetry which was interesting to see.

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