New Shoes on a Dead Horse

You know when you're sad and instead of doing something to cheer yourself up, you make the conscious decision to just turn the knife even more? Like you're not sure if your heart is pumping blood or if it's hemorrhaging from being broken one too many times but you're just gonna spend another weekend in bed, binge-watching sad movies? This book is kinda like that.It's heartbreaking, self-pitying, and yet empowering at the same time. Sierra DeMulder doesn't shy away from the pain of, for example, "watching someone you love love someone else." She doesn't pander to her audience by repeating platitudes of being better off without him, or about flaunting your new guy in front of him. It hurts. It hurts in a way that is usually beyond words for most of us, yet she's able to pin it down and put it on display. There's empowerment and growth in allowing oneself to ride out the lowest lows.There's something to be said for feeling understood. Sierra does it in this book and her others. She does it in every poem. Watching her perform her work is a sobering experience of its own. Having the words in front of you, tangible, visible, able to be shared with others - that's worth the price of this book ten times over. Sure, you can find most of your favorite Sierra DeMulder poems typed up somewhere online. But this is her work, with her actual input, her line breaks, her design, and who wouldn't want to have every tangible piece of this mastery they could own? It's the closest you can get to being able to point at a tangible object and tell someone, "There! That's how it felt when I first intimately knew heartache."Just buy it. (Not all poems are sad but I mean if even one poem makes your heart beat a little harder, it's worth the buy).

While it's hazardous to use the words "unofficial sequel," New Shoes on a Dead Horse certainly reads like the logical continuation of DeMulder's earlier The Bones Below. The former was gorgeous and a brilliant debut, but New Shoes succeeds in what few sophomore efforts fail to do-- one-upping the original. New Shoes has the admirable quality of being noticeably careful, every word deliberate, every line written 100 times or more. It's rehearsed but not clinical, showing a more mature dedication to precision that DeMulder's earlier work."The Genius," a character that is weaved into many of the poems in this collection is modeled after the Roman idea that a "magical divine entity" called a genius, would reside in the walls of an artist's studio and provide them inspiration. The Genius is the most intriguing character in poetry today. He opens a Soup Kitchen with the advertisement "You Will Find Everything Here." His beard his forcefully shaved with the admonishment, "we only carry what we think we need." He's got a bitch of a boss who edits her diary. He's every bit of negativity, but he makes surprising revelations.DeMulder's "On Watching Someone You Love Love Someone Else," has quickly become an internet sensation, because of it's lure for the pre-teen set undoubtedly, but also because of it's beautiful and simple, yet unique, capturing of a well-known emotion:"You will find her bobby pins lying innocently on his bathroomsink. Her bobby pin. They look like the wiry legs of spiders,splinters of her undressing in his bed. Do not say anything.Think of stealing them, wearing them home in your hair."New Shoes on a Dead Horse also provides further insight into DeMulder's back-story. There are familial anecdotes, Minnesota backdrops, and of course, more tales of love done wrong. Read "The Genius Falls Asleep in Church" and die a little bit. Okay? Okay.

I first came across this poet and her videos of her spoken word. I was blown away by her delivery when they were spoken aloud. I was quite pleased when I discovered that she had a couple of books published and readily available here on amazon. Reading her work in written form is just as breathtaking.It has been inspirational for me to find a poet that I truly respect so I can continue to pique my interest in my own poetry and grow. Before finding Sierra, I was most attracted to the works of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. I anticipate spending a whole lot more time with Sierra's works than I had with some of the greats. If you are a fan of either of those artists or just love good poetry, I would highly recommend picking up both of her books (New Shoes On a Dead Horse and The Bones Below). You will not be disappointed. I truly believe that anyone can find something to appreciate in her works.

There's something so breathtakingly honest about Sierra Demulder's poetry. The Bones Below has long been my favorite book of poetry, but she may have outdone herself here. You can see her development as a writer and how her mastery of the written word has grown, yet you never lose the fact that your reading Sierra. On some levels, the book appears less personal than her last (she doesn't dwell nearly as much on the specifics of her past lovers), yet the way she uses her experiences to create a character outside of herself, especially in the Genius poems, is incredible. The descriptions of her parents fall apart are also incredibly powerful. It is almost as if we get to grow up with her as she shares each painstaking detail. This book is a rare piece of art that must be experienced.

I love Sierra's poetry. I love how raw and brutally honest it is. However, I find that poetry speaks to me where I'm at in my life. This is a great book, don't get me wrong, that's why I give it four stars; but I did like her first book better for my personal tastes. Her style is amazing though, and I highly recommend her books, both of them. I also highly recommend looking her up on YouTube if you haven't seen her live (I've had the privilege) and getting a glimpse of what it is like to see her read her poetry in person.

Wonderful content and condition; the only bad point is the cover seemed a little cheap and flimsy. The rest was good.