The poems in Cathleen Cohen’s Sparks and Disperses reckon with contemporary life through the perspective of visual artists. Drawing on an ancient Kabbalistic myth of the “shattering of vessels,” Cohen explores issues of fracture, healing, and creation; the challenges of poverty, isolation, and the pandemic; and how we can find meaning and joy through artmaking. By building a poetic mural made of cracked ceramics, household items and glass shards, Cohen promotes healing through continuity and hope.
Sparks and Disperses is an incredible and unique poetry book that needs to be read by everyone as everyone will be able to relate/adore the words laced throughout Sparks and Disperses. Some poetry books move you more than usual and this was that book for me as its poems laced throughout Sparks and Disperses were truly captivating and moving.
Sparks and Disperses made me fall in love with poetry all over again and I am so thankful to the author Cathleen Cohen for this! Many poetry books can be over complicated and do not tell a concise message but Sparks and Disperses does just this as it is a story of art and healing. The poems laced throughout Sparks and Disperses will touch many readers I believe, they explore healing as well as hardships and even touches on the pandemic. There really is a poem for everyone in Sparks and Disperses and that is one of the many amazing things about it.
Sparks and Disperses is a phenomenal collection of unique and moving poems written by Cathleen Cohen that will take its readers on a transfixing, inspiring, and thought-provoking journey from start to finish. The reader in Sparks and Disperses will be greeted with many poems that can only be described as inspiring, poignant, hard-hitting, and brilliant. It is truly a brilliant and honest collection of poems and I believe every reader will be able to relate and resonate with many of the poems and become invested!
The poems laced throughout Sparks and Disperses are exceptional, original, and transfixing. As I read Sparks and Disperses, I found myself engrossed in each and every poem from beginning to end, and when I would finish reading one I would find myself reading two, even three more times! That is the power of this poetry book and it is all thanks to its raw nature, and the phenomenal words courtesy of Cathleen Cohen.
Cathleen Cohen is a newly discovered poet of mine, and I already know great things are ahead of her thanks to her words in Sparks and Disperses! I am so thrilled to have found Cohen’s work and I hope she continues to write as her work really is that great! This is a testament too to how wonderful her book is, it transfixed and hooked me and I am already excited for what else Cohen may write in the future.
To conclude my thoughts on the incredible Sparks and Disperses, I would say this collection of poems is sensational, beautiful, mesmerizing! That is why I have no choice but to award this book five stars. So be sure to have a read of the preview below and support the author Cathleen Cohen; she certainly deserves it!
