It is always nice to discover young poems from fresh voices, taking the risk to put them self out in the public eye. Especially from an author who has taken the time to know poetry enough to not just write lines of whine and shock words not normally used in polite society.

Jennifer Miller's Every Waking Moment uses images in nice ways. One of my favorites is the second stanza of "Tragedy and Sorrow, Rapture and Light".

Only Grief’s hold can freeze one

And only love can thaw such a Siberia.

Only tragedy can open a crack,

And only happiness can fill it.

Her poetry has an occasional Haiku feel to it: the concrete images, and simple language. She is, however, a young poet. All poets must start somewhere. I am glad she took the initiative to put her work out there. While her line breaks are, for the most part, standard, there are times when breaks occur in unexpected ways, such as with "Trapped".

Entrapped in reality,

A prison openly bound,

By pride, by prejudice

So do we weep. (cont.)

Most would expect the break to be after "pride". But she keeps going by adding "prejudice", forming a sound/concept experience that one might not have gotten if the sentence was broken, and the phrases, isolated.

One thing very refreshing about her work is that one does not need a degree in English to enjoy Every Waking Moment. My one picky point is that there seems to be so much about death. It is often a preoccupation by young poets who have not yet experience other parts of life, such as giving birth, or going through some other life changing event with someone else, such as astonishing victory, or a terrible illness. How one keeps going on after a loss, even when it seems impossible. Old love and new days. As she lives life and continues writing, this poet is one to watch and enjoy as she grows.

Reviewed By Nancy Louise
© April 2006