Synopsis:
Sylvia Plath once said, “I want someone to mouth me.” La Belle Ajar is a collection of poems inspired by Plath’s 1963 novel that reimagines the journey of Esther Greenwood within the empowering odyssey of these 20 scintillating cento poems that honor the voice and legacy of America’s most influential modern poet and author: Sylvia Plath.
Edition:
Paperback
Awards/Nominations:
- Luna Luna Magazine’s ‘Top 5 Books to watch out for in 2020’
My Thoughts:
I don’t know when it happened that I started liking poetry, but in the last couple of years I’ve gotten pretty into it. I got this book in my July Night Worms Package:
La Belle Ajar was my first foray into cento poetry. A cento poem, if you don’t know, is a poem made up entirely from words or even entire verses from other authors. ‘Cento’ comes from the Latin word for patchwork. So, it’s kinda like a poem quilt. Or a poem punk rock vest. You get me, right? I don’t need to come up with increasingly far reaches?
I think that poem 11 was my favorite. Titled ‘At First I Wondered Why The Room Felt So Safe,” this, to me was about where I thought the story in the novel became un-put-downable, and same Cepeda’s poetry:
“I turned the wrong conceited
words over, I made a tired sound,
I had a dull flat beguiled voice,”
I feel this snippet of a verse so hard.
This entire book of poems does a really wonderful job of retaining the emotional impact of The Bell Jar. If you found any enjoyment or connection to the novel, I strongly recommend La Belle Ajar.
About the Author:
Adrian Ernesto Cepeda has over one hundred and twenty five poems published in over a hundred different publications.
Adrian is an LA Poet who has a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and he is also a graduate of the MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles where he lives with his lovely wife and their adorably spoiled cat Woody Gold. (information taken from the author’s website).
Rating:
Although it took me until about the halfway point to really begin to connect with Cepeda’s poems, I think I hit about the same point in The Bell Jar before really beginning to connect to the story. For that reason, I think that Cepeda did a really wonderful job putting together these patchwork poems. If poetry or Sylvia Plath are your things, I’d highly recommend giving this book a go – you’ll probably love it.
La Belle Ajar By Adrian Ernesto Cepeda Clash Books Published: May 5, 2020 Paperback 102 Pages Author's Website Publisher's Website
