' The Best of It : New and Selected Poems ' Review

The Best of It

It is not very often that a book that doesn't follow a single narrative can captivate a reader to the extent that the book is quickly read in a single night. 'The Best of It : New and Selected Poems" did exactly this for me. Written by Kay Ryan and winning the prestigious Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation as well as the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the book is a delightful compilation of over 200 of Ryans favourite poems that she has written throughout her illustrious career.

Ryan served as poet laureate for two terms and as she did, she pieced together the jigsaw that is her work and created a finished product, a book of old and new poetry. The book begins with her newest poetry and chronologically catalogs work that Ryan herself has considered her most revered and widely reaching poetry into a single book. Ryans past as a the Library of Congress’s sixteenth poet laureate is recognizable immediately, the poems in the book gracefully bounce from idea to idea whilst maintaining the underlying theme of the beauty of the natural world, albeit with an ironic, almost silly twist.

The poetry in the books beauty is in its simplicity. Almost all of the poems are short enough to recite with a little practice, and the language used isn't as complex as some of Ryans peers. The length of the lines highlights this, being short and consisting of less than 5 syllables for the most part, which allows the reader to read at their own pace and enjoy it in their own time. This technique is emulated in the graphology of the book; the poems are pushed into a tight, thin column that invites you to read the entire thing as soon as you've started.

The word choices make the poems accessible for a variety of ages. Older, more mature people may appreciate the ironical nature that is inherent in the majority of the poetry, especially the older pieces. Younger people may find enjoyment in the quick to understand nature of the poems; there isn't many narrative poems and the concepts and ideas that are used aren't hard to get a grip of. The book really is a mixed bag in terms of readership and wouldn't feel out of place in a high school library, or a university students bedside table.

Ryans poetry is jampacked with rhymes and slightly off-rhymes, which sometimes hinders the narrative quality of the poems as there are obviously strict rhyming rules to stick to. Despite this, the rhymes and alliteration used throughout the book are genuinely intriguing. Some of the rhymes go as far as to be labelled "genius", being very innovative and creative with the word choices.

To conclude, this book is a riveting read for anyone who enjoys the nature of words. Even if you are not a poetry fan, the book contains enough material that extends to include so many themes, there will be something in this for everyone.