PositiveThe RumpusKeetje Kuipers reveals an intimate tale of family with potent imagery and heft—somewhat like the way an anchor marks a place while it pulls you down into murky waters. From the beginning there is a clear warning to proceed with a sense of awe, which at times is equivalent to a sense of horror ... These are sinewy poems, tough to chew, yet there is a great deal of compassion and tenderness here as well ... Kuipers redeems both grace and gratefulness, with enough compassion to spare for herself ... the words speak to a softening growth within a chosen family: wife, child, home.
Max Ritvo
RaveThe RumpusIn his first book, Four Reincarnations, the speaker’s voice is somewhat tentative and the metaphors riotously elevated ... in The Final Voicemails Max’s words engage with doubt and certainty in a manner that goes well beyond mere knowledge. They convey the sort of wild and strange imagery that so many contemporary poets strive to achieve, but in these poems, there is no room for hyperbole. Max has created a sort of meta-metaphor, images that are both metaphor and simultaneously mean exactly what they say. These poems offer a surreal, in- and out-of-body candor that, at times, can be devastating to read ... Max achieves that rare conflation of desolation and exultation that may only be possible when facing death. He personifies objects, vilifies loved ones, compartmentalizes body parts, projects his emotions, shape-shifts at will, and creates characters that may or may not exist, but are humanly and inhumanly real to him, and through him, to us ... Max’s tenderness for those he is leaving behind is abundantly voiced; his playfulness and self-deprecation are brightly alive. He possesses an inner strength that blends disaster and joy in the same cup ... Max left us a legacy of wisdom in poetic reflections few have surpassed.
