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UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Tag Archives: poetry
The Copywriter – Daniel Poppick
(Reviewed by JD Jung) A witty, morally bracing portrait of an artist adrift in Trump-era America, where poetry, precarity, and conscience collide. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Poetry
Tagged poetry, political fiction, Social satire
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Grime – Thea Matthews
(Reviewed by JD Jung) I usually don’t read or appreciate this genre, but this collection completely disarmed me. From the opening pages, the poetry and poetic prose captivated me, pulling me into voices and lives that linger long after the … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
Tagged addiction, Georgia, Las Vegas, New York City, pain, poetry, poverty, prison, San Francisco, South Carolina
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An UnderratedRead Revisited : Wordsworth in Bogotá – Scott E. Sundby
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Colombian drug lord Diego Velasquez is facing financial ruin. It’s right after 9/11, and the U.S. borders are tightening, and corrupt officials are now refusing bribes. His two sons represent the family’s split identity: Carlos, … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged drug cartels, English literature, poetry, Wordsworth
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Wordsworth in Bogotá – Scott E. Sundby
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Colombian drug lord Diego Velasquez is facing financial ruin. It’s right after 9/11, and the U.S. borders are tightening, and corrupt officials are now refusing bribes. His two sons represent the family’s split identity: Carlos, … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged drug cartels, English literature, poetry, Wordsworth
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A Relevant Poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Pity The Nation (2007)- Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) (inspired by Khalil Gibran) Pity the nation whose people are sheep, and whose shepherds mislead them. Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced and whose bigots haunt the airwaves. … Continue reading
The Shining – Dorothea Lasky
(reviewed by JD Jung) The Shining, a collection of over thirty poems, takes us to places similar to those that the Overlook Hotel made famous through Stephen King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s film of the same name. Though just as … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Poetry
Tagged artists., identity, poetry, relationships, self-destruction
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The Deceptions – Jill Bialosky
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Beautiful Aphrodite, she did what she pleased. Surely, she did not worry about pleasing her husband, or hate herself for her acts of infidelity. Those gods and goddesses, they have no shame.” Our unnamed narrator … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged betrayal, Greek mythology, poetry, seduction
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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Late Fame (NYRB Classics) – Arthur Schnitzler (Author), Alexander Starritt (Translator)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Around him was an atmosphere of hope, youth, self-confidence, and he breathed it in deeply. …some of the words they were using began to sound familiar to him…words he had thought of from time to … Continue reading
Last Words on Earth – Javier Serena, Translated from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “The paradox of letters made weapons, words made bayonets with which to pierce the page and exact revenge against my own destiny, which I had judged—until then—to be so harsh.” Poet and writer Ricardo Funes … Continue reading
Posted in Latin American Literature, World Literature
Tagged Mexico City, negacionismo, Peru, poetry, Roberto Bolaño, Spain
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In Remembrance of Lawrence Ferlinghetti
( by JD Jung) “As long as there is poetry, there will be an unknown; as long as there is an unknown there will be poetry. The function of the independent press (besides being essentially dissident) is still to discover, … Continue reading
Posted in Let's talk
Tagged beat generation, free speech, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poetry, San Francisco
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