At some point Amazon need to figure out how to handle poetry. I read The Last Unkillable Thing via Kindle, and the line breaks are different depending on device and also depending on portrait vs. landscape view. That’s not how poetry works—poets choose those line breaks for a reason. So unfortunately, my response to this book isn’t necessarily a “true” response in that, not having the printed book, I don’t know what form the poems are actually supposed to take. Something to keep in mind.

Beyond that, this book for me is a collection that works better in its individual lines than in its larger segments (poems, series of poems, anthology). The poems are a bit too removed/disjointed for me, though others of course might have differing reactions. There are, however, a number of wonderful lines throughout, mostly in the vivid depiction of the natural world, which along with grief is the focus of the book, the two the predominant themes. The grief comes out in lines such as “”there was grit before grief took me” or “Doesn’t it hurt to be human. I’m so human I could die.” Even more lines reference nature— the weather, the animal and plant life, the air and light, as in this fantastic passage:

There are kingdoms under snowpack, tunnels unseen unless destroyed. The knot of mice breathes heat into the haven. A fox listens for its kill before tearing into the snow. Winter rain arrives, pocks snowbanks, exposes deer tracks, their piss. The holes left by hooves are deep, flooded with bog water, it frozen mosses. The river high and fast. Dead greases, cedar fronds dipped into water like wicks into wax — bright bulbs of ice.

This is the eye of a sharp, constant observer, someone who has spent a lot of time, concentrated and over years, in nature, watching, being part of it.

Beyond the precise, detailed description, you can also see the sound elements employed: the assonance of “tunnels unseen unless,” the alliteration of “holes left by hooves” and “wicks into wax,” the consonance of “kingdoms under snowpack,” “pocks-snowbanks-tracks.” You can see from this it’s a carefully crafted work, something I can appreciate even if it isn’t for me personally.

Pittinos does a great job of evoking a mood, a setting, a feeling with few words. The issue is, with this book, that it's the same one every time - started to feel a bit one-note. Still, good writing and clear talent.

Well what can I say, these poems don’t seem to be my thing, maybe it’s because the theme wasn’t something from my repertoire ... sorry

Emily Pittinos is a master of words and a profound literary voice — and The Last Unkillable Thing is a powerful collection, full of insight and voice.

This was a very sad, very gentle collection of poetry centering around mourning and nature. The themes/ motifs around nature, specifically deer and birds were very consistent throughout the collection. Not gonna lie, I didn't *really* understand most of the collection, especially after the first section, but I liked the vibe if that makes sense.

My favorites were:
-After (all of them)
-It Is Not Animal to Forgive
-The Days Shorter, and Yet

This just wasn't my style of poetry; I think that some people will really connect to it, while others won't at all.

My favourite poems in the collection:
- After
- Edge of Ruin
- I Grow Less Visible
- It Is Not Animal to Forgive
- Study of a Lone Beast

Themes and General Thoughts
"How much of enjoying a place is destroying it?"

These poems all follow different directions but seem to culminate upon the central theme of mourning. I felt that some poems were clearly stronger than the others, and there was only one that I felt completely drawn into. There seemed to be a lack of flow in many of them, and the style of some (specifically the ones with colons separating every few words) didn't work with their story.

Every so often, the poems seem to fit together, they flow nicely and towards a common goal, but then it derails again into something that just doesn't seem to fit.

My favorite poem was "Trembling on the Skin of a Droplet". This poem embodied what I had hoped to see more of in the collection. The storytelling hit the nail on the head and the writing worked wonderfully to create a beautiful sense of imagery and further the narrative

Writing
"Winter is what endures."

The writing style did not feel consistent throughout the entirety of the collection, which in some cases worked, but often did not. I felt jarred by the first few poems, they didn't create that hook or tangible connection that they should have to invest people into the story.

About a third of the way through, the writing style seemed to change, but this was a welcome change, as I much preferred these poems and wished that the collection started with one or two of them to actually immerse me into it.

Some of the writing is more abrupt and oddly worded with no apparent purpose, which breaks the trance the story should hold, making them less enjoyable.

There were some beautiful lines and quotes scattered throughout, but they felt few and far between.

Final Thoughts
"What is barren to one is shelter to another."

While this collection was not for me, I did see so much opportunity and room for growth within the stories that I would be willing to check out future work from Pittinos.

In this collection of poems, Pattinos explores the loss of her father and the complexities this brings to her relationship with her mother. With its seamless shifts between anger, sorrow, humour, and tenderness, it encapsulates the breadth and complexity of emotion inherent to the grieving process, despite its relative brevity.

Anchoring the collection is the recurring motif of the natural world. Pattinos evokes scenes with razor-sharp precision; its enduring beauty in the wake of her sadness as much a frustration as it is a comfort. Though subtly handled, the changing of the seasons can also be seen as reflective of her own journey towards healing.

The collection arguably lacks standout pieces that I’ll be able to recall on their own, making it the kind I will remember more for its overall impression, but it was certainly a tight, focussed selection of work.

A gorgeous, aching collection of poetry from the winner of the 2020 Iowa Poetry Prize. An evocative and unflinching collection of grief and mourning, experienced in conjunction with nature. I really loved it. I was fascinated by the author's use of repetition. If you love nature, if you've ever experienced a loss so sudden and sharp that you were mad at the birds the trees the sun for staying the same, I would suggest this completely. I can see myself revisiting this book often.

Favorite poems: After, Wanting a Child, With Key in the Door, It Is Not Animal to Forgive, Subnivean

I liked the poems and the writing style, but didn't find it as good as I was expecting. I really liked how everything was in the theme of nature and how that was one of the base elements of the poems.

It was just meh. In the middle. Not good, but not bad.

A gorgeous collection of poems that have an almost nature element and feel to them. I had a great time immersing myself in this collection and would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys poetry. The sense of emotion and poetry of words, is just beautiful.