Meditations at Midnight

I finished Meditations at Midnight in one sitting, not because it is relatively short, but because I legitimately did not want to put it down. It's a collection of poetry and prose in a variety of styles and tones: dreamlike, somber, mysterious, whimsical, but always thought-provoking. One little story had me laughing, a moment later a poem left me feeling wistful, and another story kind of gave me the creeps. Though I cannot visualize, Gary Jansen's descriptions of everything from sunsets to people, were intricate and vivid enough that I had as clear a picture as I possibly could, and that's no small feat! 

As the book progresses, there are more and more mentions of God, prayer, and the like. I'm not at all religious but I was raised in religion. For me, reading these bits felt like I was observing something from long ago, but from a different angle. I didn't mind it at first, but as I said, it seemed as though it came up more frequently the more I read, so it did start to throw me off. Then it occurred to me that there was no mention of the influence religion obviously has on Jenson's work in the description of the book, and I think that might bother some people. From what I can tell, Loyola Press is a religious publishing house, so that could be a clue, but I didn't know this until after I read the book and it's not reasonable to expect people to have this knowledge. 

That aside, this really is a lovely little collection of stories and poems (with a gorgeous cover to boot). I've been over here living life thinking poetry wasn't for me and with this book, Gary Jansen has helped me realize that poetry really is for everyone. I just had to keep looking for the stuff that works for me and now I feel inspired to really give poetry a chance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Loyola Press, from whom I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review.