(Review) Insomniatic by Valerie Fox

Publisher and Publication Date: PS Books, Regional Publishing National Voice, A division of Philadelphia Stories. October 20, 2017.
Genre: Poetry.
Pages: 26.
Source: I received a complimentary paperback copy from Valerie Fox. I was not required to write a positive review.
Rating: Very good.

Poetic Book Tours

Amazon
This book is not available in ebook, only paperback for $10.

 

Poet Info:
Valerie Fox’s work has appeared in many journals, including Thrush, Painted Bride Quarterly, Hanging Loose, Apiary, West Branch, Sentence, and Qarrtsiluni. Originally from central Pennsylvania, she has traveled and lived throughout the world, and has taught writing and literature at numerous universities including Sophia University (in Tokyo) and currently at Drexel University (in Philadelphia).
Goodreads, the author page for Valerie Fox.
Poems For The Writing, a blog.
Thrush, a poetry journal published 6 times a year.
Twitter
https://sites.google.com/site/texturepress/home/texture-press-writers/valerie-fox
Across the Margins

About the Book:
Insomniatic is the newest poetry chapter book from Valerie Fox, author of The Roschach Factory and The Glass Book. These poems haunt and question, dream and wander, asking the reader to question what is a dream state and what does it mean to be awake.

My Thoughts:
Twenty-four poems are included in the Insomniatic book.
My favorite poems are Insomnia; And for that matter, what does it mean to be human? and I’ll come see you.
The first poem and chapter of the book is Insomnia. The first stanza jumped out at me. I agree, we do seem to be, “afraid to call upon one another unless the meeting has been pre-arranged.” I think back to the days when we just picked up the land-line telephone and called a person. I remember when there wasn’t answering machines. I remember when there wasn’t caller ID and other specs for phones. I remember a time when the telephone rang I really did want to talk. Now, we text first and then see if it’s okay to call the person. But, I believe this poem goes deeper than calling a person. It resonates with being “afraid” to reach out to another person when we’re in trouble, or lonely, or feeling the need to have companionship. We have to test the waters first so to speak.
The second poem I like is And for that matter, what does it mean to be human? I’ve read this poem several times. Each time I read the poem I pick up something new. I just love this, when a poem teaches me something! In this poem, several words repeat: song, sing, good ear and ears. I take it the narrator wants to be heard? That he feels unheard and wants to share something deep in his heart. He wants to share a story.
I’ll come see you. This poem is direct, in your face and cutting. The narrator is angry and bitter. But, there is also deep disappointment and sadness.
I enjoyed reading Insomniatic! I plan to re-read the book!