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An honest and at times an abrasive collection of poetry, sure to tug at your heartstrings.

Synopsis

"The fierce utterances of spare change are anything but. In poems that dart and turn, on matters as elemental as loss and desire, surfaces are unstable, ironies often lurking at line breaks...Fearless in their desire to arrive at difficult truths, these poems are bracing, generous—and beautiful. You will not forget them." ~Boyer Rickel

spare change is a collection of poems that traverse the pitted and slippery territories of family, illness, addiction, and mothering.

Irene Cooper uses free-verse style poetry to create a dark and beautiful collection. Spare Change is like watching a car wreck: shocking to the core, but you can't look away. I was fascinated with each poem. Strange and fascinating, Cooper's poetry will captivate you.


"sometimes, in my perversity, i see our dead brother as a priest..."


Morbidity and sexuality are intertwined in many of the poems. The combination of the two is shadowy and unnerving and yet, Cooper laces the two together in perfect harmony. Fans of Edgar Allan Poe will enjoy the macabre nature of this collection.


"she now seems different in the light bathed of morning dew dried gold no flat florescence of hospital no glow of casino human moonless and lonesome by the slots in the ward..."


Irene Cooper's honesty about life, death, addiction and more can trigger some. However, the poems are worth reading, even if you are sensitive to such jarring material. The topics are not exploited but rather respected.


"i guess before your body turns to stone tragedy comes wrapped in other colors ash & smoky azure on the bridge end to end with feet..."


Read "spare change" slowly and carefully, soaking in the murky side of life. Irene Cooper is a unique, haunting poet with an old soul. Her words will stab you like a knife but be grateful for the experience. I highly recommend this collection.

Reviewed by

Rachel Patterson's poetry has been published in several literary journals, such as The Penmen Review. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English, and she is completing her MFA in Creative Writing. Rachel lives near Pittsburgh with her husband, son, and three crazy cats.

Synopsis

"The fierce utterances of spare change are anything but. In poems that dart and turn, on matters as elemental as loss and desire, surfaces are unstable, ironies often lurking at line breaks...Fearless in their desire to arrive at difficult truths, these poems are bracing, generous—and beautiful. You will not forget them." ~Boyer Rickel

spare change is a collection of poems that traverse the pitted and slippery territories of family, illness, addiction, and mothering.

late parade

 

in the snapshot

we line up

by age

look sideways

but for a sister

who

at the last second

faces the camera

head on

the world

in one moment

a shudder

of photo op

two-bit cyclone

in the next

a whip

lash of childhood

underfoot

hurled

where the dead

lie uncomposed

at most

illness is

a voracious

guest memory

hops on one leg

from the snapshot

we slip

the future a look


 

 

 

to a certain nobody:

a pair of wingtips is not

a means to fly   even if

you are not in love

with the lies of the father

the rain can be taken

for medicine   a boy has

seventy-two castanets

such doors seep

light in small doses

flush his golden hands


 

 

 

all incisors & milk

you are unassailable, knobbing up naked, singing

the hills alive, reservoir brimming at your back

best loved & creamy

mindless of cannibals in livery   

                                                  later, when every

eye is died, triumphant

blood rushes deaf to my ovation

we’re happy enough, most days


 

 



 

the body sere with treatment is fifteen

& yours is nine

what rules you subsumes you

though promise bursts like april dogwood

you artfully bloom,

                                      instead, like yeast

                             to swell the collapsed skin of him

let sacrifice be flesh alone           let the air of a body

never loved enough to be [inside]

wait inert for a late parade




 

 

 

ascending holy

linoleum stairs

youshadow

me like i’m

on my knees

before kiss

before i have

the next adonis

in my lip

line my dark

my breathless

doe eyed brother

i find you wanting

a faithless mouth

always racing

always slipping

a wet fish

to the slap

come a day

i’ll lay

my idolatry

to rest

but the price

of monotheism

is empty rise

r is this passion

play of dumb

 


 

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3 Comments

Stephen FranksCongratulations on your 5-star review. Good luck with the anthology!
almost 4 years ago
Irene CooperA big, big thank you to @rachelpatterson for the wonderful review! And a shout out to @brigittelewis0761 , the multi-faceted artist behind the cover art for spare change (& Committal!).
almost 4 years ago
Deborah BreulerLoved it. Gave me all the feels!
almost 4 years ago
About the author

Irene Cooper is the author of COMMITTAL (VA Press), speculative spyfy about family, and spare change (FLP), a finalist for the Stafford/Hall Award. FOUND, a psychological thriller, is her latest. Irene facilitates creative writing in community and lives with her people and a corgi in Oregon. view profile

Published on March 31, 2021

Published by Finishing Line Press

5000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre:Poetry

Reviewed by