Book Review: What Comes Down To Us

What Comes Down to Us: 25 Contemporary Kentucky Poets by Jeff Worley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Since this describes itself as a collection of contemporary Kentucky poets, I expected more contemporary to the 2010 release date, as well as poets that were specifically from Kentucky. There were a couple that was born and raised, but most either only lived in the state for a bit, or were born in Kentucky but didn’t stay.


Even the ones who had a true Kentucky connection didn’t write anything (at least not that was included in this anthology) that felt specific to the state. Most of this could be set in any state and feel relevant, so I was very disappointed as a native Kentuckian.


There’s also the generation gap between what I expected and what was represented. Everyone included in What Comes Down To Us was born in the 1960s or prior, and while that is still technically contemporary, I thought there would be more inclusiveness in terms of age range.


Speaking of inclusivity, with the exception of two memorable poets, the authors represented where white heterosexuals that chiefly seemed to represent a very narrow area of Kentucky down around Lexington where it was published.


All in all, this collection felt entirely too flat and non-specific for what it claimed to be compiling. As a native of the state of Kentucky, and as a writer as well, I felt completely removed from the poets included in What Comes Down To Us and feel it would have been best not to call this a collection of contemporary Kentucky poets.



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