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Poems 4 A.M.
In these poems, we come to know a different side of the acclaimed novelist Susan Minot. We find her awake in the middle of the night, contemplating love and heartbreak in all their exhilarating and anguished specifics. With astonishing openness, in language both passionate and enchanting, she offers us an intimate map of a troubled and far-flung heart: “Can you believe I thought that?” she asks, “That we would always go/roaming brave and dangerous/on wild unlit roads?”
At once witty and tender, with Dorothy Parker–like turns of the knife and memorable partings from lovers in New York, London, Rome and beyond, these poems capture a restless movement through loves and locales, and charm us at every turn with their forthrightness.
From the Hardcover edition.
At once witty and tender, with Dorothy Parker–like turns of the knife and memorable partings from lovers in New York, London, Rome and beyond, these poems capture a restless movement through loves and locales, and charm us at every turn with their forthrightness.
From the Hardcover edition.
- GenresPoetry
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Susan Minot
28 books276 followersSusan Minot is an award-winning novelist and short story writer whose books include Monkeys, Folly, Lust & Other Stories, and Evening, which was adapted into the feature film of the same name starring Meryl Streep. Minot was born in Boston and raised in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, attended Brown University, and received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. She currently lives with her daughter in both New York City and an island off the coast of Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 4, 2018
Enjoyed these poems, have been reading a few a day. I like Minot's writing style.
October 13, 2010
The hours before dawn reminds one of early morning scuffles to the kitchen, brewing a cup of coffee, and reading a morsel of random newspaper fluff to snap the average human synapse into work mode. Susan Minot contrasts this and other romantic depictions of dawn; sleepless nights are Minot’s detoured slighting of dawn description. Her collection of poetry is divided into nine sections; each is given the title of significant states, countries, and cities. This categorization of the birthing place of each poem adds an interesting element to the work’s shifting tone. Change in section titles transports the reader to new locations, periods, and moments in what appears to be Minot’s life, but the narrative of love that follows the switched settings cannot be undeniably determined as chronological.
Her constant reflections of love, life, and really just love are honest but often brutal; however drippy the overpowering emotion of love, Minot’s collection is effective in conveying a clear and concise theme surrounding flawed male affection. According to Minot, love will go missing in life, and her insatiable desire to find it is an annoying oddity. She conforms her intimate desires flung about her bed of restless nights unsatisfied; love or the occasioned lust will travel from section to section and change with the addition of setting. Her life truths morph into a disfigured collaboration of both love and lust lessons that are sweating through regretful sheets.
The opening setting hazes to gray skies of Massachusetts and the speaker glosses over significant memories that surround her formation of home. The reader can infer that this setting is most logically the speaker’s home town. This readily explains the family oriented characters of father and dog. They are dually represented in the first section.
Massachusetts, however bland in comparison to the more illustrious settings that follow, has a drawing effect on the reader. Familiarity between home town and speaker is the most likely triumph in the beginning section,as the speaker is familiar with the landscape; Similar to other sections, this portion of poetry falls into the repetitive narration style of overtly ambiguous emotions. Imagery is present but not entirely captivating, borderline generic; likewise, the sensory images are not effectively evoked in describing what should be an easily grasped visual understanding of home.
Monet approaches each poem as a single event or story to be told, but she continues to show an absurd amount of discomfort with how lust and love overlap in her tortured struggle. From Long Island to London, Susan Minot is either in hope of or is entrapped by love. Free-versed form allows her piece to be approachable in its fluidity of conveying the collection’s narrative; nevertheless, the audience is bombarded with slightly overindulged emotions. This dramatic recounting of love is rather raw and untamed; Minot is jaded. The reader gets it.
Poems 4 A.M in its entirety is a feisty work of raw emotional poetry, but the broad nouns and monotonous love thwarted voice seem to beg for great insightfulness that simply is not sticking. Although Minot’s voice is earth quaking honest, her extreme use of pathos negates her validity. The tambourine dance of hyperbolic, uncaring males clangs awkwardly. Ironically, these are all men of whom she chooses to sleep with. Short lineation is a literary go to; most of Minot’s pieces contain less than insightful onslaughts of short enjambment of lines. Likewise, the internal and end rhyme is often so sporadically placed that it lacks a cohesive flow. End rhyme is the grand finale; it is the poetic trick sleeve of literary standby. Minot pulls out the final end stop, finally. Rhyming the rabbit out of a hat, she complains, “It always ends this way.” Seclusion will sicken her free sort of stomach. Sadly for Minot, there is only one state of companionship left for a woman in constant brooding from nights to early mornings.
Her constant reflections of love, life, and really just love are honest but often brutal; however drippy the overpowering emotion of love, Minot’s collection is effective in conveying a clear and concise theme surrounding flawed male affection. According to Minot, love will go missing in life, and her insatiable desire to find it is an annoying oddity. She conforms her intimate desires flung about her bed of restless nights unsatisfied; love or the occasioned lust will travel from section to section and change with the addition of setting. Her life truths morph into a disfigured collaboration of both love and lust lessons that are sweating through regretful sheets.
The opening setting hazes to gray skies of Massachusetts and the speaker glosses over significant memories that surround her formation of home. The reader can infer that this setting is most logically the speaker’s home town. This readily explains the family oriented characters of father and dog. They are dually represented in the first section.
Massachusetts, however bland in comparison to the more illustrious settings that follow, has a drawing effect on the reader. Familiarity between home town and speaker is the most likely triumph in the beginning section,as the speaker is familiar with the landscape; Similar to other sections, this portion of poetry falls into the repetitive narration style of overtly ambiguous emotions. Imagery is present but not entirely captivating, borderline generic; likewise, the sensory images are not effectively evoked in describing what should be an easily grasped visual understanding of home.
Monet approaches each poem as a single event or story to be told, but she continues to show an absurd amount of discomfort with how lust and love overlap in her tortured struggle. From Long Island to London, Susan Minot is either in hope of or is entrapped by love. Free-versed form allows her piece to be approachable in its fluidity of conveying the collection’s narrative; nevertheless, the audience is bombarded with slightly overindulged emotions. This dramatic recounting of love is rather raw and untamed; Minot is jaded. The reader gets it.
Poems 4 A.M in its entirety is a feisty work of raw emotional poetry, but the broad nouns and monotonous love thwarted voice seem to beg for great insightfulness that simply is not sticking. Although Minot’s voice is earth quaking honest, her extreme use of pathos negates her validity. The tambourine dance of hyperbolic, uncaring males clangs awkwardly. Ironically, these are all men of whom she chooses to sleep with. Short lineation is a literary go to; most of Minot’s pieces contain less than insightful onslaughts of short enjambment of lines. Likewise, the internal and end rhyme is often so sporadically placed that it lacks a cohesive flow. End rhyme is the grand finale; it is the poetic trick sleeve of literary standby. Minot pulls out the final end stop, finally. Rhyming the rabbit out of a hat, she complains, “It always ends this way.” Seclusion will sicken her free sort of stomach. Sadly for Minot, there is only one state of companionship left for a woman in constant brooding from nights to early mornings.
March 8, 2019
The Miami Herald review states she has an ear for cadence and rhyme, however, while there were a few really nice poems, overall I found the cadence scattered and disjointed and her rhyme often felt juvenile. There was some vivid imagery and when I gave up reading them like a poem I found I liked the stories some told.
Here is one of my favorite poems in the volume:
"Director"
Turn me around.
Face me out the window.
Make me see
the dark green night
and the black view
and the fireflies blinking like robots
and a floating hill or two.
Make me want to live
past this moment.
I feel about to die
(I really do).
I've lost all orientation,
fell thoroughly through.
Tell me again,
Tell me what you see
with your hands on my neck.
I see the trees
with you at my back
the sky,
your stare,
the stars spilling
with you in my hair,
you pinning my arms.
Tell me again the point of the scene
and who is supposed to be telling who?
Anchor me to the chain
of you telling me
what to do.
Here is one of my favorite poems in the volume:
"Director"
Turn me around.
Face me out the window.
Make me see
the dark green night
and the black view
and the fireflies blinking like robots
and a floating hill or two.
Make me want to live
past this moment.
I feel about to die
(I really do).
I've lost all orientation,
fell thoroughly through.
Tell me again,
Tell me what you see
with your hands on my neck.
I see the trees
with you at my back
the sky,
your stare,
the stars spilling
with you in my hair,
you pinning my arms.
Tell me again the point of the scene
and who is supposed to be telling who?
Anchor me to the chain
of you telling me
what to do.
March 23, 2017
Nearly all of these poems are about love and heart break. The only themes are being with a man who is a complete jerk, and traveling to many different places. Clearly, these themes are shallow, and there was never deeper insight or emotion. I was disappointed in this collection, and found it very repetitive and tedious to read toward the end.
July 23, 2007
One of my favorite poetry books.
April 9, 2018
Insomniacs with Susan Minot
“But best was when he whispered/ You don’t fuck me enough.” Poems 4 A.M. is an unabashed, raw insight into the insecurities, ideas, and pain that our minds can lock away—only to be released during the thresholds of the night—when we are most vulnerable. It isn’t 5’oclock somewhere, its 4am, and Minot takes the reader on a journey through love; while displaying what can occur when it’s lost again and again: art. She [Minot] evokes the evidence that poetic justice in real life isn’t always just, and thus begins the journey of emotional expression—raw, sexual and unabated. Minot delivers a deeply personal insight into a topic that isn’t always outlined with hard facts, as love is subjective, yet the hauntingly familiar evidence just can’t be ignored.
Minot certainly tinkers with the artistry of form. She intertwines the vines of lineation and absorption; the reader can intake the emotion she [Minot] felt as if each line break stood for the stimuli in the brain firing off, leading to thoughts and passion dripping into each word. This method is especially apparent in “There’s a man I’ve thought of many hours…” She [Minot] writes, “or/ to/ kiss/ his/ grave/ face/ or/ drink/ his/ sigh” (18-27). Each line break can almost be read out loud in soft, yet harsh huffs of breath— each one blurted into the universe with unequivocal passion. Minot usage of form takes a literal standpoint, as she creates a sort of picture for the reader with “Tent”; the short and long lines are purposefully arranged to create an image of a tent, with the middle lines being the longest, and the lines before and after are descending to form the tented shape. This artistry of using form to bring a poem to life is also observed in “Defending Despair While Balancing on Cobblestones.” She [Minot] writes, “He spoke/ just a peep/ made the slightest of pleas” (1-3). What exemplifies tension and brevity more than being tense and brief? Minot carries a potent eloquence within her form, which is the very aspect that is expected from a person with a broken heart: elegance above lashing out and showing pain. It is almost as if she is softly holding up her middle finger, while keeping it polished and manicured, to that standard—by embracing both. This is displayed beautifully in “the snow, the leaves—well, everything—/ brings disappearance with it/ I suppose one day I’ll go to bed/ and not think of how your hips/ and arms/ and eyes are set” (4-9). She [Minot] is hurt, as we all come to experience, yet she makes it just as beautifully necessary and survivable as the changing of the seasons.
Minot has a certain brilliancy hidden within her method of sound. There is an imperfect scheme within “Waking 4 A.M.” that delivers a familiarity in the off rhymes, yet does not seem follow a certain pattern, whatsoever. Such as, “Chest split in two (2)/ where are you (11)/ This heart for you (42)/ The blur into blue (53).” It isn’t perfect, but love isn’t either, thus the creation of this Blues era-esque song rhythm that is just itching to be felt. She repeats this imperfect rhyme scheme in “Say you’ll always be” with, “make me stay (3)/ that you’ll never go away (5)/ you’d die (8) lie (12).” Minot also has a few dead-stop rhyming schemes, where the end rhyme is present, then comes to a crashing halt, such as displayed in “Gratitude” noted as, “It flashed where it was bent/ You can’t imagine the joy it sent/ through me.” This creates a brilliant, suspenseful need to keep reading. She hooks the reader with her siren song, and just as the crew realizes the ugly truth of the material, it’s too late—the ship is crashing into the unapologetic rock that is Susan Minot.
Minot loves to create imagery with figurative language. In the “Director,” she states, “fireflies blinking like robots” (6) or in “In Flooded Atlas, Illinois” with, “the elms drip like rotten lace (19). The language is used powerfully, as she seems to have a common theme of incorporating it as a tool of establishing a visual setting—creatively, though—as the comparisons are delivered within the mid-range section of each working, rather than in the predictable area of the beginning. She [Minot] not only utilizes figurative language to establish setting, but also uses her skills of descriptive word art in the literal sense. In “St. Sebastian in Your Kitchen” she writes, “I toed the little spots/ where yellow tiles had cracked/I left you in the dark/ while I was stark/ naked on the yellow floor/our last cold pot of tea was there” (3, 6-7, 13, 16-17). Minot is a master at setting up a visual display within her dialogue, but much more, she creates an atmosphere that is chalked full of feelings, waiting to be felt. I would recommend her collection Poems 4 A.M. time and time again!
“But best was when he whispered/ You don’t fuck me enough.” Poems 4 A.M. is an unabashed, raw insight into the insecurities, ideas, and pain that our minds can lock away—only to be released during the thresholds of the night—when we are most vulnerable. It isn’t 5’oclock somewhere, its 4am, and Minot takes the reader on a journey through love; while displaying what can occur when it’s lost again and again: art. She [Minot] evokes the evidence that poetic justice in real life isn’t always just, and thus begins the journey of emotional expression—raw, sexual and unabated. Minot delivers a deeply personal insight into a topic that isn’t always outlined with hard facts, as love is subjective, yet the hauntingly familiar evidence just can’t be ignored.
Minot certainly tinkers with the artistry of form. She intertwines the vines of lineation and absorption; the reader can intake the emotion she [Minot] felt as if each line break stood for the stimuli in the brain firing off, leading to thoughts and passion dripping into each word. This method is especially apparent in “There’s a man I’ve thought of many hours…” She [Minot] writes, “or/ to/ kiss/ his/ grave/ face/ or/ drink/ his/ sigh” (18-27). Each line break can almost be read out loud in soft, yet harsh huffs of breath— each one blurted into the universe with unequivocal passion. Minot usage of form takes a literal standpoint, as she creates a sort of picture for the reader with “Tent”; the short and long lines are purposefully arranged to create an image of a tent, with the middle lines being the longest, and the lines before and after are descending to form the tented shape. This artistry of using form to bring a poem to life is also observed in “Defending Despair While Balancing on Cobblestones.” She [Minot] writes, “He spoke/ just a peep/ made the slightest of pleas” (1-3). What exemplifies tension and brevity more than being tense and brief? Minot carries a potent eloquence within her form, which is the very aspect that is expected from a person with a broken heart: elegance above lashing out and showing pain. It is almost as if she is softly holding up her middle finger, while keeping it polished and manicured, to that standard—by embracing both. This is displayed beautifully in “the snow, the leaves—well, everything—/ brings disappearance with it/ I suppose one day I’ll go to bed/ and not think of how your hips/ and arms/ and eyes are set” (4-9). She [Minot] is hurt, as we all come to experience, yet she makes it just as beautifully necessary and survivable as the changing of the seasons.
Minot has a certain brilliancy hidden within her method of sound. There is an imperfect scheme within “Waking 4 A.M.” that delivers a familiarity in the off rhymes, yet does not seem follow a certain pattern, whatsoever. Such as, “Chest split in two (2)/ where are you (11)/ This heart for you (42)/ The blur into blue (53).” It isn’t perfect, but love isn’t either, thus the creation of this Blues era-esque song rhythm that is just itching to be felt. She repeats this imperfect rhyme scheme in “Say you’ll always be” with, “make me stay (3)/ that you’ll never go away (5)/ you’d die (8) lie (12).” Minot also has a few dead-stop rhyming schemes, where the end rhyme is present, then comes to a crashing halt, such as displayed in “Gratitude” noted as, “It flashed where it was bent/ You can’t imagine the joy it sent/ through me.” This creates a brilliant, suspenseful need to keep reading. She hooks the reader with her siren song, and just as the crew realizes the ugly truth of the material, it’s too late—the ship is crashing into the unapologetic rock that is Susan Minot.
Minot loves to create imagery with figurative language. In the “Director,” she states, “fireflies blinking like robots” (6) or in “In Flooded Atlas, Illinois” with, “the elms drip like rotten lace (19). The language is used powerfully, as she seems to have a common theme of incorporating it as a tool of establishing a visual setting—creatively, though—as the comparisons are delivered within the mid-range section of each working, rather than in the predictable area of the beginning. She [Minot] not only utilizes figurative language to establish setting, but also uses her skills of descriptive word art in the literal sense. In “St. Sebastian in Your Kitchen” she writes, “I toed the little spots/ where yellow tiles had cracked/I left you in the dark/ while I was stark/ naked on the yellow floor/our last cold pot of tea was there” (3, 6-7, 13, 16-17). Minot is a master at setting up a visual display within her dialogue, but much more, she creates an atmosphere that is chalked full of feelings, waiting to be felt. I would recommend her collection Poems 4 A.M. time and time again!
Read
March 14, 2023Nice, approachable poetry collection. I was taught that poetry is a spoken art form that is meant to be read aloud, and i about 2/3 of the way through, I started reading the poems out loud to myself. I think I enjoyed them more when I read them this way. It was a good experiment.
February 16, 2011
I was interested in Susan Minot as an author after reading “Lust” from Lust and Other Stories. I noticed she wrote from a woman’s perspective that was focused on an exaggerated emotional response to the idea that men do not love as woman do. I saw it as a one sided viewpoint on how men and woman interact with love and relationships. Although I didn’t agree with what she was say exactly, her raw emotion drew me in and made me want more from her.
Poems 4 A.M shows her breathtaking search for self. The way the poems are organized gives the reader a better sense of setting as she sets up the location and feeling of the poems to come.
Although I realize her poems are also about different aspects of her life, I mainly focused on one main idea. The idea that I had been drawn to in Lust and Other Stories, and that was her thoughts on men and love.
The first thing I noticed about these poems was the fact that she is restless. Literally and figuratively, she is restless and discontent. She is not convinced there is anything to get out of love or lust. Men couldn’t possibly be able to fill the void. This is where I disagree with her. It makes me have mixed emotions about my own thoughts and that is what I loved most about her theme. As a woman, am I supposed to agree with her? Think that all males are just out for a quick grope and meaningless sex? That they don’t truly love as a woman does? On the other hand, my basic instinct says that men are capable this and disagreeing with her main theme made me feel like a traitor to my own gender.
With that said, I would like to note that in her raw honesty of portraying her opinion and the fact that I may not agree, is what sold me on her poems. I enjoyed having a strong intelligent woman to respect through her words rather than her actions.
She describes so beautifully the settings around her as well. In one poem she describes a setting in Massachusetts. She puts me in the scene. I personally thought the images described surpassed her main ideas.
The poem, Family Dog, from the section “Massachusetts”, was by far my favorite, as I believe it was the best way to explain this reoccurring theme. The reader can also see how her words flow and rhyme pattern. I enjoyed feeling the words and at the same time could feel the sharp pain that was inflicted on Minot.
“Each, apart, you told me you loved me: a lie./You each went, snapping your suitcase shut./I loped after each car. Barking at the end/Of our drive. I could only stray so far. What/I was attached to in you would not stretch or bend.”
In the next section, “Long Island” the first poem structure is brilliant. Titled, There's a man I've thought of many hours . . ., the poem moves as though Minot’s thought process is moving, slow and tortured. Each line has only one word. Drawing out the angst of having this man on her mind. “I/don't//mind/thinking/of/his/closed/eyes/or/of/his/mouth/parted/and/how/my/own/once/rested/there/full-hearted.”
Poems 4 A.M is a delight to read yet difficult to let sink in. Her words impacted me enough to question my original idea and her use of words and structure of her poems made me go back and re-read them just to remind myself that as beautiful her words are arranged and put together her life with out love is in ruins.
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April 6, 2011Poems 4 A.M. by Susan Minot, Knopf, New York 2002
Susan Minot reinvents sex, love, and self-revelation in her collection of poems, Poems 4 A.M. Minot’s collection evokes emotion and relates to readers because of its universal subject matter: romance, growing up, and moving on. The collection is divided into nine chapters, each relating to a different place ranging from Boston to Rome. Each chapter gives insight to Minot’s life in relation to the place it represents. For example, the first chapter, “Massachusetts,” portrays Minot’s childhood whereas “Tuscany” deals more with romance. Also, each poem is written differently, be it varying rhyme scheme, differing point of view, or changing visual aesthetic, which helps to maintain the reader’s interest throughout the entire collection. All in all, the poems and chapters flow and come together seamlessly as one collection.
In Poems 4 A.M. Susan Minot is able to evoke emotion through poetry without using hyperbole or overworked subject matter. One of her most impactful and provoking pieces, “Family Dog” is written very simply and concisely, from the family dog’s point of view. This poem puts a new spin on the universal theme of moving on in life because it is written from the dog’s perspective. She writes, “You left, not I. / One by one there were less of you. / …Each, apart, you told me you loved me: a lie. / …I ambled off to where dogs bereft go / Down by the railroad tracks, and died.” This poem is clearly written from a sad dog’s perspective, however, it elicits a common feeling of abandonment, something everyone can relate to.
Also, Minot adds an element of surprise in most of her poems, which further engages readers. For instance, in “Waking 4 A.M.” the narrator speaks about a person who is figuratively absent, questioning, “where where / where are you” and “Where have you been?” Then, the speaker answers, “It is myself I mean.” And so, Minot creates a build-up in the poem, causing the reader to assume that the narrator has been abandoned by someone, however, it is really the narrator herself who has not been present the whole time. Through these unexpected turns in her poetry, Minot consistently maintains the reader’s interest.
Additionally, Poems 4 A.M. presents interesting poetic techniques such as alternating rhyme scheme and irregular word placement. None of the poems follow the same rhyme scheme, as some rhyme and some do not. Also, Minot creates aesthetic appeal by placing the words in unusual ways on the page. For example, “Tent,” is written in the shape of a triangular tent and “There’s a man I’ve thought of many hours…” is written with one word per line. These poetic techniques that Minot employs make the reading exciting because each poem has something different to offer.
And so, Susan Minot’s Poems 4 A.M. is a fluid collection that deals with the universal themes of love, lust, sex, and life, but presents these themes in a new and interesting way through poetic techniques, plot revelations, and varying viewpoints. In general, Poems 4 A.M. is a little solemn, and would benefit from more positive and uplifting poems because the collection needs more tone variation. Regardless of this negative aspect however, the collection is generally successful because it evokes emotion, relates to readers, and maintains reader interest.
Susan Minot reinvents sex, love, and self-revelation in her collection of poems, Poems 4 A.M. Minot’s collection evokes emotion and relates to readers because of its universal subject matter: romance, growing up, and moving on. The collection is divided into nine chapters, each relating to a different place ranging from Boston to Rome. Each chapter gives insight to Minot’s life in relation to the place it represents. For example, the first chapter, “Massachusetts,” portrays Minot’s childhood whereas “Tuscany” deals more with romance. Also, each poem is written differently, be it varying rhyme scheme, differing point of view, or changing visual aesthetic, which helps to maintain the reader’s interest throughout the entire collection. All in all, the poems and chapters flow and come together seamlessly as one collection.
In Poems 4 A.M. Susan Minot is able to evoke emotion through poetry without using hyperbole or overworked subject matter. One of her most impactful and provoking pieces, “Family Dog” is written very simply and concisely, from the family dog’s point of view. This poem puts a new spin on the universal theme of moving on in life because it is written from the dog’s perspective. She writes, “You left, not I. / One by one there were less of you. / …Each, apart, you told me you loved me: a lie. / …I ambled off to where dogs bereft go / Down by the railroad tracks, and died.” This poem is clearly written from a sad dog’s perspective, however, it elicits a common feeling of abandonment, something everyone can relate to.
Also, Minot adds an element of surprise in most of her poems, which further engages readers. For instance, in “Waking 4 A.M.” the narrator speaks about a person who is figuratively absent, questioning, “where where / where are you” and “Where have you been?” Then, the speaker answers, “It is myself I mean.” And so, Minot creates a build-up in the poem, causing the reader to assume that the narrator has been abandoned by someone, however, it is really the narrator herself who has not been present the whole time. Through these unexpected turns in her poetry, Minot consistently maintains the reader’s interest.
Additionally, Poems 4 A.M. presents interesting poetic techniques such as alternating rhyme scheme and irregular word placement. None of the poems follow the same rhyme scheme, as some rhyme and some do not. Also, Minot creates aesthetic appeal by placing the words in unusual ways on the page. For example, “Tent,” is written in the shape of a triangular tent and “There’s a man I’ve thought of many hours…” is written with one word per line. These poetic techniques that Minot employs make the reading exciting because each poem has something different to offer.
And so, Susan Minot’s Poems 4 A.M. is a fluid collection that deals with the universal themes of love, lust, sex, and life, but presents these themes in a new and interesting way through poetic techniques, plot revelations, and varying viewpoints. In general, Poems 4 A.M. is a little solemn, and would benefit from more positive and uplifting poems because the collection needs more tone variation. Regardless of this negative aspect however, the collection is generally successful because it evokes emotion, relates to readers, and maintains reader interest.
February 17, 2011
Susan Minot’s Poems 4 A.M., was a collection of poems written about her memories as a child, the places she traveled, but mostly, they were about love.
If it wasn’t about the love she had, it was about the love of which she yearned. Her poems were written in a variety of ways. There were short, choppy, one word lined poems, and lengthy, long winded lined poems. Every poem had a rhyme scheme. The array of poems kept the read fresh and captivating. I was not getting tired of reading the same versed poem over and over again.
One of the phrases she used in her poem, The Toast, “a disturbed calmness,” dwelled with me while I read the rest of the collection. The imagery of her poems was often worded by simply naming colors; such as, blue, red, pink, silver, green, etc. While it gave me a clear picture of the image she was trying to express, I found it was more effective when she used description that was not so specific. An example was, in After Labor Day she has a line that says, “as the dirt road outside went from rust to rose.” This line stuck out to me because it was not a typical color depiction.
From the beginning of the book, I was curious about the title. Are these all poems which were written at 4 A.M.? Do any of these poems occur at 4 A.M.? When “time” is first mentioned, it is at 3 A.M. There are three mentions of 3 A.M. until finally 4 A.M. makes its debut halfway through the book, and then shows up a second time. The book ends on the time of 6 A.M. It seemed to me that the significance of time was when she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night from a dream. Several of the poems were about the dreams she had and how she felt when she awoke from them.
The poem that was the strongest was No Conception. It fills you with the helplessness she feels when her attempts to conceive with a man, whom she loves, fall short. Over half the lines begin with “Cannot.” She feels she cannot do anything, and that she isn’t worth anything if she can produce a child. Her emotions run rampant; she loves and hates, she cries then she stops. There are several periods, and while that usually slows down a piece, I felt it moved it along faster. It helped the intensity grow, and made you feel what she was feeling. She was short-breathed, and pained.
Though, it ends on a sad tone, I enjoyed this book immensely. Susan Minot’s writing was vivid and full of imagery, yet easy to follow. I was not trying to decipher everything all the time. Most of it was pretty straight forward. I recommend this book to anyone!
If it wasn’t about the love she had, it was about the love of which she yearned. Her poems were written in a variety of ways. There were short, choppy, one word lined poems, and lengthy, long winded lined poems. Every poem had a rhyme scheme. The array of poems kept the read fresh and captivating. I was not getting tired of reading the same versed poem over and over again.
One of the phrases she used in her poem, The Toast, “a disturbed calmness,” dwelled with me while I read the rest of the collection. The imagery of her poems was often worded by simply naming colors; such as, blue, red, pink, silver, green, etc. While it gave me a clear picture of the image she was trying to express, I found it was more effective when she used description that was not so specific. An example was, in After Labor Day she has a line that says, “as the dirt road outside went from rust to rose.” This line stuck out to me because it was not a typical color depiction.
From the beginning of the book, I was curious about the title. Are these all poems which were written at 4 A.M.? Do any of these poems occur at 4 A.M.? When “time” is first mentioned, it is at 3 A.M. There are three mentions of 3 A.M. until finally 4 A.M. makes its debut halfway through the book, and then shows up a second time. The book ends on the time of 6 A.M. It seemed to me that the significance of time was when she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night from a dream. Several of the poems were about the dreams she had and how she felt when she awoke from them.
The poem that was the strongest was No Conception. It fills you with the helplessness she feels when her attempts to conceive with a man, whom she loves, fall short. Over half the lines begin with “Cannot.” She feels she cannot do anything, and that she isn’t worth anything if she can produce a child. Her emotions run rampant; she loves and hates, she cries then she stops. There are several periods, and while that usually slows down a piece, I felt it moved it along faster. It helped the intensity grow, and made you feel what she was feeling. She was short-breathed, and pained.
Though, it ends on a sad tone, I enjoyed this book immensely. Susan Minot’s writing was vivid and full of imagery, yet easy to follow. I was not trying to decipher everything all the time. Most of it was pretty straight forward. I recommend this book to anyone!
April 20, 2012
I loved this little book. Minot's use of language is playful, with rhyme sprinkled throughout, and to the point without being boring or didactic. Most of these are lost love poems, so the book on the whole is sad, but there's wry humor here, too, as well as lust and hope. This one's a keeper, I will be buying it for my collection for re-reading. Minot's poem "Family Dog", too, is one of the best poems in a dog's voice that I've ever read.
June 21, 2016
I was so disappointed. After being so enamoured of Lust and Other Stories, and enjoying Monkeys and Rapture, and impressed with her skill with language, I found these poems juvenile in comparison, almost entirely on the surface and completely lacking the subtle depths of her prose. Giving it two stars because there's a lot of foreign travel, and some perspective on her ancestors, rather than just "woe I have lost my lover."
July 24, 2007
ABAB rhyme scheme in anything from this century is usually a turn off for me, I'm afraid.
'Evening' was far more poetic.
'Evening' was far more poetic.
February 21, 2008
I would have given this two and a half it I had the option, because I did like several of the poems very much.
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