Book 50 - There Are Other Sad People in the World

Title: Depression & Other Magic Tricks Author: Sabrina Benaim Genre: lovesick girl poetry 

I both loved and was underwhelmed by this book. Benaim's poetry can be absolutely breathtaking in its construction, use of language, and accuracy:

"cool i have woken up & cried for three mornings in a row each time felt as if there was a reason but i could not remember it".

That might be one of the most accurate statements about depression out there. I also loved:

"like i wish my tongue was a drawbridge to his castle. his heart is a stubborn pistachio. like i want to crack it open. i want to play his heartstrings like a harp, or rip out his heartstrings & like braid them into a bracelet. like decorate me. i want to wear him".

I did not, however, feel that the book lived up to its name. I didn't get depression in most of the poems as much as I got heartbreak, loss, and loneliness. For that reason, the collection feels more like something I would have identified with in high school, where what i thought was love was probably closer to lust and longing, and my emotions were confusing puzzles I didn't have the pieces to put together.

Of course, this is all completely subjective; everyone experiences everything, especially mental illness, especially poetry, in diversity. I don't want to devalue Benaim's experiences with depression and anxiety simply because they don't reflect my own, nor do I want to devalue her poetry because I didn't feel it down to my bones.

But...

It's a "meh" from moi!

Rating: 🌱🌱🌱 / 5