It started thirteen years ago when I wrote and published my very first review, of Voyeur by Rich Murphy, which appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Main Street Rag. Fast forward to the end of 2023, and that number has grown to one hundred and fifteen. I’ve placed reviews in Cider Press Review, The Pedestal, Rain Taxi, PRISM, and the Georgia Review, among others. Most of the reviews I’ve written appear in my monthly newsletter, Sticks & Stones.
Review-writing has become one of the most important parts of my practice. It’s certainly made me a better writer, but the real benefit is in my reading abilities. To write a good review, I must be a close and meticulous reader. I’ve learned that to write a review I can be proud of and does the book I’m reviewing justice, I need to slow down and read each poem carefully. Poetry collections are filled with surprises, and I don’t want to miss them. This improves my comprehension and focus. Writing the review uses different mental abilities than writing poetry or nonfiction, and helps me hone my critical-thinking skills.
Slow reading delivers aha moments, for example when I discover a theme running through the collection which I might have missed had I read it too quickly. My favorite part of writing a review is the period after I’ve initially read the book. The ideas from the poems are fresh in my brain, buzzing and darting like a charm of hummingbirds. This is when I ask myself how I will craft the review. Which direction will I choose? What themes and topics will arise? I make notes in the margins, highlighting words and phrases.
Writing reviews can solve a lot of problems for writers. It’s the perfect cure for writer’s block, or the lament, “I have nothing to write about.” Pick up a book, read it, and start writing. Simple, yes?
Most people whose books I’ve reviewed send a gracious thank-you note. Some do not. One friend of mine, upon reading the review I wrote of her poetry collection, remarked that it felt as if her book had “gone through a therapy session.” I hope the book felt better after the review…
Reasons to write reviews:
- It challenges you as a writer.
- It’s a cure for writer’s block.
- It’s another genre you can publish in.
- It gives back to the literary community.
- It’s fun—no, really!
If you’d like to learn more about writing reviews, please subscribe to my newsletter, Sticks & Stones. You will receive my e-book, Erica Goss’s Guide to Writing Reviews, as a thank-you gift.
Such good points about writing reviews, Erica. How do you select the books you review? Do you charge?
Hi Mary, Thanks for the question! I do not charge for reviews. Each October, I open submissions for reviews for Sticks & Stones. During that month, I receive books from writers seeking reviews. From that group, I select twelve for the following year, one per month. The next submission period opens October 1, 2024. I also write reviews for journals who send me books to review.
AMAZING! Thank you for all the good you put forth into the community!! xoxo K
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could. ~ Louise Erdrich http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9388.Louise_Erdrich (from The Painted Drum http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1371214.The_Painted_Drum)
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