Official Review: You, Me... And Us by Moctezuma Braussi

[HannahsReads]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "You, Me... And Us" by Moctezuma Braussi.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

You, Me... And Us is a bilingual poetry collection by author Moctezuma Braussi. The overarching theme of this free-verse poetry collection is self-identity. The author crafts a persona out of sub-themes of passion, betrayal, and patriotism. The poems paint a clear picture of the author's beliefs, ideals, and experiences.

I appreciated the author’s gift of introspection. I also liked lovely descriptive phrases such as this one: "My dreams dance/ admired along your riverbanks." I found the poems with geographical and patriotic themes to be most compelling. The author writes passionately about the need for a strong identity for native Puerto Ricans in poems such as “Identity Without Identity.” He employs an honest, straightforward, and commanding style as he honors his culture.

I did not relate so easily to some of the other poems; I struggled with the frequently wordy style. Poetry requires precise and careful use of language. Each word should be selected for a specific nuance, cadence, or connotation. However, I had the distinct impression while reading this collection that words were often chosen for their sophistication instead of for their meaning. This gives some of the poems a cumbersome and verbose style. I am not arguing that multi-syllabic words should never be used in poetry; some of these poems become labyrinthine because of the multitude of lengthy and unnecessarily obtuse vocabulary. For example, the author uses the phrases “the coeternal struggle of dispersed hues,” “canonical concepts reverberating/ against the foundations of/ philosophical reason,” “my concerns lie with/ the nescience of fools,” “the ineffable massacres of the terrorist,” and "the obliquities of deceit” all in the first poem of the collection. It is difficult to focus on the intended meaning of a poem when it reads like a thesaurus.

I also disliked the structure of the ebook format. The English poems are all provided first; the second half of the book contains the Spanish poems. I believe the beauty of the bilingual aspect of this book would be enhanced if each poem was presented first in one language and then in the other. This would make it easier to compare the slight variations between languages.

I would recommend You, Me... And Us to readers who enjoy very personal free-verse poetry. I would especially recommend this collection to anyone interested in the culture and literature of Puerto Rico. I would warn sensitive readers that this collection does contain explicit sexual references and limited profanity. I found this book to be very well edited. I give this poetry collection a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.

******
You, Me... And Us
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[RHD]

I wouldn't mind a poem or two. Either way, this one seems like a pass. Thank you for such a detailed and insightful review.

[Atieno Magero]

This seems like an interesting poetry book to read. Great review!