Am I Naturally This Crazy?

Sara's poems are wonderful. They inspire, encourage, and move one to strive for excellence. This book is very organized and well written.

I wrote a longer review of Sara Holbrook's collection "Walking on the Boundaries of Change" which you might take a glance at. Much applies to this collection as well.Holbrook writes poetry for young people in the 10-15 age range. As a teacher of 6th graders, I think they are a 'demographic group' that sometimes must feel invisilble. Not for lack of being marketed-at and sold-to, though. Invisible because they are always being asked to don the personae of either "child" or "teenager". Usually they are neither, and often they seem to find the cultural fit and expectations of these to be ill-matched to their inner lives. It is rare to find anything, books included, that fit comfortably. Holbrook's work fits.One thing kids this age are, is poetic. Bad poets - often. Illiterate poets, sometimes. Poets disguised as musicians - frequently. But, because they are thinking, changing, thinking again and jumping, always, to a new vantage point - they are poets. Holbrook, who apparently started writing poems when her own children started growing up, connects to the poet in young people by connecting to the range and jump of their lives.Unlike the other collection I reviewed, "Am I Naturally This Crazy" seems to be more directed toward younger young folks... somewhat more connected to the needs of 10-12 year-olds than those of 12-15's. This is perhaps a too-subtle distinction, since they are all boundary-crossers, but definitely my sense of the overall collection. It is not lightweight - she speaks to issues like divorce - but somewhat less complex, less abstract. Of course, since your typical 10-12 year-old will turn up as a 12-15 year-old, it couldn't hurt to own both!If you are a teacher of young people this age, scatter your room with poetry such as this for the odd, quieter moment. If you are their parent, consider the same.