by Jim Moore
Graywolf Press, $15.00, 104 pages
In his new poetry book Invisible Strings author Jim Moore, writes about what connects us to each other and celebrates the commonalities we share. This collection is Moore’s sixth poetry collection. He and his wife spend their time in Saint Paul, Minnesota and Spoleto, Italy. The love he has for both places shines through in his work.
Divided into six sections, Moore features 56 poems. The poems are meditations on reactions to grief, the aging process, death, love, perfect moments, sacrifice, and the things we have in common with fellow human beings. Moore’s style is a haiku-like approach to poetry combined with free verse. You won’t find rhyming stanzas, but this makes it all the more approachable. His writing is sometimes brief and to the point, but this less-is-more technique allows the reader to search for meaning between the lines. Moore’s poem titles provide deeper insight into his thought process as well. In the poem “On This Cloudy May Day”, Moore illustrates the human capacity to hold on to hope. “I keep thinking/maybe June is what I need/to make me happy.” And in another poem he writes that “Love takes you where you need to go, no exceptions.” Just beautiful.
Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin