Beautiful in the Mouth by Keetje Kuipers was recently reviewed online at CutBank Literary Magazine. The review highlights the many strengths of Kuipers' work, which include her connection with the wilderness and the "American West":
" Kuipers . . . has always used her geographic identity as a powerful internal compass for her life and writing. In fact, this book was completed while she was the Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Resident, another nod towards Kuipers’ ties to the land. While not all of Kuipers poems presented here are directly concerning the wilderness, she is never far from the landscape at all nor is she only interested in the metaphoric value of such: Kuipers is very much a poet of the American West. Her best poems in this collection to me are those where she directly connects with the land of the brutal Northwest and human interaction with the same, as in 'After the Ruins of an Oregon Homestead.' "
In addition to this, the review notes some of Kuipers' other strengths: her "apt word[ing]," "lurid" and "near-gothic" images, and a few romantic notions, even if they're touched by cynicism.
The whole review can be read here: http://www.cutbankonline.org/
CutBank Literary Magazine Full of Praise for Beautiful in the Mouth
- Categories: Book Reviews