And Her Soul Out Of Nothing

Everyone should read this highly original, honest and unabashedly real first collection of poems. These poems pack a lot of punch. I would recommend this to anyone passionate about poetry without hesitation. Let her slay you with her words.

I am always amazed at the synchronicity of the universe and the grace of God. I got this book of poems in the mail yesterday and it was like a package of sunshine, a paper bag of silvery moonlight, ten dozen exotic orchids, a box of girlfriends with heads nodding up and down saying, "I know what you're going through, girl." A poem can save a life and soothe a weary, heavy soul. Words ARE things: concrete, healing, calming, comforting and consoling. I've just barely survived one of the hardest weeks of my life and this book of brilliant poems was a lifesaver, a literal lifeline. The poems spoke straight to my heart and were a salve to my hurting soul. Thanks, Ms. Davis, for sharing your heart with the world....and God Bless You!

I've been reading this book since I got it three years ago. It is always on top of my stack of what I'm currently reading; I never tire of it. Out of all the poetry I've purchased in the last few years, (and, I've spent my money on plenty of it!) this is among the rare books that I won't lend to my friends in fear that it should not return to me. Davis has a way of pinpointing heartache with such precision that I stand in awe. One of my favorite poems, "Should One Prefer Purity To Intensity of the Soul," puts it like this:While you are gone, I keep the housequiet. Did I ever tell you,I once heard a woman speak of her lonelinessas if it were a small bird. Imagine: her sorrowhad a wingspan! . . . This book is a gift to its reader. Thanks to Davis for writing it.

This is one of the most strikingly, achingly beautiful books I've read in a long time. My credentials as a reviewer consist of nothing more than that I read a lot of poetry and i've since recovered from the narrow visions of grad school, which seem to breed arrogance and a need to attack. I'm not a sentimentalist nor a hack devoted to rhyme or juvenile renditions of emotion masquerading as poetry. But I know enough to know when I read someone GOOD and talented, and this poet earns that distinction. In regard to the first reviewer's cruel, ignorant, and UNSUPPORTED assessment, I would suggest that readers trust Rita Dove over the poor wretch who was likely searching for a place to use "doggerel." Some people love to show off their new vocabulary (esp. would-be poets). BUY IT.

I've never read a poet who writes like Olena Kalytiak Davis. I suppose if some crazy geneticist managed to meld the minds of Poe, Longfellow, Ogden Nash, Dylan Thomas, Gwendolyn Brooks, Stevie Smith, and Sylvia Plath, then a writer similar to Davis might appear, but that's about what it would take.She uses language unlike anyone else -- as a playground, a laboratory, a room with rubber walls. Her imagery is idiosyncratic, but always powerful, always somehow just right. Her rhythms pull her words to and fro, clattering and clashing together, bouncing off each other, bounding and rebounding across landscapes of dreams and portents. With any other poet, I'd quote some lines, but that wouldn't do Davis justice, for her poems need elbow room and time for their wonders to accumulate. With any other poet, I'd tell you, If you like X, you'll like this one -- but for Davis there is no X. She is her own equation, sui generis.Few collections of poetry have so much to offer, so much depth and substance, so much sustenance for the reader ready to listen.