Atticus (1)Reseñas

Pinterest poetry - short stanzas that are catchy and that my mum would post on her Facebook.
They’re a bit too cheesy for me.

“I hope to arrive to my death, late, in love, & a little drunk”

Some good stuff, heartening and funny. But mostly stuff on the level of a greeting card.

Resulting from Instagram posts created by an anonymous author, this is a beautiful collection of night photos and short verses.

I had heard that Atticus’s poems were great so I was excited to finally pick up one of their books but I found myself disappointed. In general none of them were wowing or thought provoking in anyway. And then this book promises for an exploration in the truth about magic but what I got was mostly just bland poems about love. And yeah I get that the point is that there is magic in life. That’s what I wanted. I wanted it to touch me, give me something I can relate to. But it mostly just spoke of love and there is SO much more to life than just falling in love and being in love.

An interesting read. Something I don't really read usually. This type of poetry is something I tend to shy away from but I decided to take a chance with this one. Though I did enjoy the book overall. I personally liked the section about adventure, that had to be the section I really connected with. I think that I would give his books a shot if I were to find them when I go shopping. I think I would recommend his books to Sara, I think she would like them. But other than that it was a good read.

CHE DELUSIONE! Ho iniziato questa nuova raccolta piena di aspettative, ho amato il primo libro di questo poeta essendo nella sua semplicità intenso, commovente e con un bel messaggio di fondo. Purtroppo mi sono cadute le braccia ritrovandomi poesie al pari di quelle dei cioccolatini, scontate, già sentite e banalissime. Per 3/4 il libro si riduce a smielatissimi versi d'amore citando tutti i cliché delle love story più famose e tirando pure in ballo Parigi come città dell'ammmore universale e bla bla bla bla. Ho dovuto arrancare fino all'ultimo quarto che ha in piccolissima parte risollevato il mio umore, portandomi ad arrotondare le 2,5 stelline a 3. Il fatto è che il primo libro non parlava solo d'amore ma anche di identità personale, del modo che ognuno di noi ha di vivere l'amore, come questo ci possa distruggere o salvare e come dobbiamo rialzarci dopo le cadute e ricominciare a vivere e soprattutto ad amare con più forza e coraggio di prima, il primo libro aveva uno schema che raccontava una storia, l'evoluzione di una persona che la porta ad amare, vivere questo amore con tutte le sue forze, cadere e soffrire quando quest'ultimo viene meno e infine...rialzarsi e ritornare ad amare di nuovo con più forza di prima e con coraggio, facendo tesoro del passato, imparando dai propri errori e imparando soprattutto ad amare se stessi senza accontentarsi di avere una persona a caso attorno ma qualcuno di speciale con cui condividere gioie e dolori, quella persona speciale capace di farci sentire unici ed importanti, belli, indispensabili e desiderati. Un libro insomma non solo bello da leggere ma anche coinvolgente e vivo, un ritratto dell'uomo e del suo percorso di vita mentre questo... sembra l'elogio di un teenager innamorato. Non che ci sia nulla di male ma per tutto il tempo mi è sembrato di rileggere le frasette idiote che scrivevo io alla mia prima cotta, frasettine risicate e messe insieme tra un' immagine e l'altra per tentare di comporre un libro che alla fine non racconta proprio nulla se non che Pinco ama Palla e tutto è bello, tutto è vivo e colorato e solo nell'ultima parte c'è un piccolo tentativo di dire "Eh no amici, se non siete innamorati non importa perché potrete trovare l'ammmore come me½

We are made of all those who have built and broken us

Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars

Unless this was supposed to be a comedy, and then five stars, cause oh boy did I laugh.

(We all know poetry isn’t for me though.)

Man... I just don't get it. This guy is inspired by Whitman, Angelou, and Plath? There is nothing confessional or expansive about these poems. It's pretty surface level stuff. I won't knock short poems, or even simple poems. But it truly feels like there is no greater significance then what's advertised, and in a collection full of over a hundred short poems, half of them seem to be saying the exact same thing. It just seems to lack a level of artistic message.

I decided to read this because I want to consume a wide breadth of poetry, and Atticus is known as one of the most popular poets on social media. He's grown to fame by having digestible, easily sharable poems that fit nice on "aesthetic" graphics. He's anonymous (basically), and it makes sense why. His goal is to appeal to the casual reader by writing poems devoid of personal meaning. Instead of exposing his self to us, and asking us to draw a connection to him, he seeks no connection at all. It's all generic analogies about how a woman is a flower that must bloom before she can be plucked or something like that. Easily sharable, easily consumable, and apparently easily marketable. His page is well run- visually pleasing, much like the cover of this book. Beyond that, there isn't really any poetic merit here.

This isn't to say that his work is unethical or whatever; people enjoy it, and they should. But the purpose of this book seems to be to show your support for a social media page, not to actually bring together a meaningful collection of poems. My only real issue is that the guy pretends to be something he's not. It's a brand, so nameless and faceless it might as well be corporate. It works for what he's doing but it is so far removed from the personal rage of Maya Angelou that he shouldn't tie her name in with his work.

I've read a lot of poetry, read too much if I'll be honest, I've read comedy and haiku and stories in poetry form. I've read ballads and sonnets of poems, songs, limericks, so many things I've read. From Jack Frost to modern day black books with flowers and bees upon their covers. Some of it really resonates with me, little pieces of them that I repeat out loud.

This book is not one of those. It feels like each piece of it came from some cheesy song or was written for one person not the world. There's things like bridges with specific names, phrases like "skinny dippers" that come out of a country song. The mess of this book combines with the very stock-like images. They are flat, black and white or monochrome messes. None of it resonates a bit with anything.

I feel as though parts of this is single-liners from bad books or generic ones meant to be ignored and passed by. With phrases like "he was one of those bad boys" how can you not laugh? Which leads me to the real appeal of this book.

There's not really one.

But if you want to laugh, try reading these to friends or a big group, it gets better the more voices you do. Saying bad boys or reading the annotations really makes for a ride, and "Your sweater smells like you" in a creepy voice can make for a great time.

Don't buy this book, save your money, unless you want a real drinking game or to get buzzed and then read this. It's great for parties, but not for poetry lovers.

This made me want to fall in love all over again.

I enjoyed this.

The poems touched me

I did not find this one to be quite as strong as The Dark Between Stars, but again, a lovely yet powerful read. Atticus has a knack at choosing just the right words to help the reader visualize what he sees and feel what he feels. A lovely rainy day poetry book.

Upon first glance, this is one of those stereotypical, hipster poetry books that has become so popular. However, it is more than worth the read. Atticus writes with a straight-to-the-point simplicity that can be hard to find in poetry these days. Those straightforward, he has a knack of throwing in a surprise at the end of each poem, bound to leave a smile on your face. His word choice is powerful and lovely. There is a poem for everyone in his books.

An amazing collection of romantic and subtle beauty.

Very remarkable. One of my favorite poetry books now.

Atticus is an anonymous poet who gained online traction through his Instagram and Tumblr posts, and for the first time his work is being featured in a published paperback edition. The collection is divided into three different chapters: Love, which includes pieces about crushes, falling in love, and heartbreak; Her, detailing the beauty of a special unnamed woman who deserves great love; and Wild, a scattering of poems about travel, philosophy, and finding your true self.

I am impressed by the creative scope of his work, and admire his ability to express emotions about relationships, pride, and art that everyone will be able to relate to, combined with the typography aesthetic that has its own appeal. However, his poetry isn't particularly deep or significantly moving, and is actually quite basic. I think I would have enjoyed poetry like this back when I was twelve years old and just starting to write love poems about imaginary lovers, myself—a much simpler time in my life. The content of Love Her Wild will appeal primarily to middle-grade readers, particular preteen and teen girls, as they span the topics of pure and young love, wanderlust, and the importance of inner beauty.

That said, there are a few poems that truly stood out to me: Love could be labeled poison and we'd drink it anyways and When it comes to love we are primates breaking sticks while pointing to our hearts. There's just a charming simplicity and vulnerability to both of them. If all his poems were as effective as those two, I'd be much more inclined to recommend him to audiences other than teenagers.

Although in the end, this isn't fiction like I normally review but rather poetry, which is an entirely different art form; while Love Her Wild isn't groundbreaking to me, it can certainly be appreciated by anyone who knows what to make of it.

Pros: Plenty of poems to enjoy in the three different "chapters": Love, Her, and Wild // Beautiful black-and-white images in a softbound edition—would make a great gift or coffee table book // Atticus certainly has a way with words and some of the poems are touching

Cons: Much of the content is quite teen-angsty and melodramatic, attempting to be ~deep~ through simple, unstructured verse

Verdict: As Atticus's first print poetry compilation, Love Her Wild speaks to his success as an Internet-famous writer who has touched the hearts of young-and-in-love budding romantics, especially among adolescent audiences. The minimalistic style and tender words of this syrupy volume make it pleasant to read, aesthetically appealing, and highly quotable, especially through visual mediums (e.g. Instagram posts). I would not be surprised to see excerpts of Love Her Wild widely quoted in the mainstream.

Rating: 7 out of 10 hearts (3.5 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable; would recommend, but borrow a copy before you buy!

Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Atria Books!)