"The body leaves
in fits and starts,
in temperament, a cheap used car,
desperate for an engine part,
transmission work,
and four new tires."
Vaya Con Dios from "Cake"
Doreen Fitzgerald

Poetry is one of my greatest loves. The poems by Alaskan writer Doreen Fitzgerald in her book "Cake" seem to reflect a longing for a simpler life that never quite existed. The rhyme schemes are daringly simple - challenging us not to skim over the poems but to let the words soak deeper into our being. Childhood memories infuse the volume with a fading amber glow that lies just out of reach. "Cake" published by the Ester Republic Press is a welcome addition to my collection of poetry. ( )

Cake is a slender volume of verse, primarily centered around slices of Fitzgerald's rural, family life. While the poems are fairly accessible, they aren't particularly hard hitting or impacting, rather, they're a sweet, simple, but pleasant read. ( )

I happen to be a very picky reader of poetry, and quite honestly, this book did little to capture my attention one way or the other. It wasn't dreadfully awful or painful to read, as some books of poetry can be, but it wasn't spectacular or breath-taking either. In books of poetry, I look for at least a handful of poems that strike me powerfully as pieces I can read again and again, delving into deeper meaning each time. If there are poems in a collection that slip by with a nod or a shrug, even a few truly startling revelations of real insight or magnificent imagery can justify my purchase. In "Cake: Selected Poems," while there were quite a few poems that made me pause and go "hmm, interesting"--there just weren't any that stood out or stuck with me. It was, all in all, an average book of poems. ( )

This collection of poems focuses mainly on author Fitzgerald's personal and family history. Since I don’t think there are enough poems about the lives of working people, I’m somewhat biased to be on the author's side with in her work. Cake does not herald the arrival of a major poet, but I think this plainspoken and conversational volume will appeal to readers of a certain age, or bring back surprisingly unsentimental memories and the stories of older parents and grandparents.

the title of this book confused me - "selected poems" implies, in my mind, works that have previously been published in other collections coming together. in this case, "selected poems" just means picked by the author, as this is her first book. pretty boring overall. loaded with cliche ideas, not much surprising in the poems. they're written nicely and they're ok, but there's nothing that grabs me and makes me say "oh." the title poem encapsulates much of the colle...more the title of this book confused me - "selected poems" implies, in my mind, works that have previously been published in other collections coming together. in this case, "selected poems" just means picked by the author, as this is her first book. pretty boring overall. loaded with cliche ideas, not much surprising in the poems. they're written nicely and they're ok, but there's nothing that grabs me and makes me say "oh." the title poem encapsulates much of the collection: set up a cliche, try to say something clever about it. unfortunately, the clever thing isn't clever enough to overcome the cliche. overall the book is perfectly fine, just not innovative enough for me to feel the need to read anything else of fizgerald's. i did like the poem "teeth." ( )