The Prettiest Star

André Darlington’s poetry collection The Prettiest Star is a bit of a mind bender in the best kind of way. His poems come across haunted and, although some are easy to comprehend, others can be a pinch trickier to grasp. But that is what makes poetry, poetry. Sometimes the poet wants to be the only one who understands that specific moment in time, a secret only they know inside and out intimately. I find that it only makes those poems more interesting to the rest of us who sit scratching our heads. Part of one of my favorite poems reads, “Sorrow is a garden/turned thicket/breath frozen inside/not song but sad secret.” The lyrical quality that Darlington’s writing possesses is astounding and definitely leaves the reader wanting more.

The poems are untitled and vary in form throughout the book, creating an unsettled yet still cozy pace and set up as your eyes continue to move along. I would heartily recommend The Prettiest Star to anyone who enjoys the written word, whether it be the emotional value or just the mood that words on a page can put us into. Poets, especially, would kick themselves if they passed up this book.