This collection focuses on physical experience and contemplates the beauty of everyday life – the objects, the stories, and the people that drift in and out. It finds the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Kerri Cull is the author of Soak (2012) and Rock Paper Sex: The Oldest Profession in Canada’s Oldest City (2017). She has a Master of Arts in English literature and a Bachelor of Education in post-secondary education, and is currently working on a diploma in police studies. She lives and works in St. John’s.

 

Kerri Cull's profile page

Interesting

by Loni C.

Kerri Cull seems like she'd be an interesting person to know in real life. I'm not thinking this just from the poems in Soak, but also from the "Discussion Questions" and the "Recommended Soundtrack" found at the end of the collection. I might like those things at the beginning of the book or maybe a contents page indicating they are included at the end of the book. It would give the reader something to look out for or listen to as they read the poems. One day I can see myself rereading the poems with the questions in mind and some Tragically Hip playing in the background...

I won Soak from The 49th Shelf, a bookish website that is all about Canadian literature. Though it took a while to get here, I'm glad that I won this little book of poetry. It was a great and quick read. I think it's another positive step towards me reading poetry again regularly.

Each poem in Soak seems to be an event in the author's time line, her life. Is it all her? Are these the poems of a character she has created? Could be either.. or both. I find the idea interesting and I liked that the poems together told a story. I'm not sure if I'd have felt the same impact if I wasn't reading the collection as a whole.

I also felt that many of the titles of the poems seem more like the first line, but not all of them. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe I'd like consistency since the collection tells a story.

If you want to sample Kerri Cull's poems, and I recommend you do, click the link below. You will get to read a poem from each of the three sections (stages of life).

http://saltyink.com/2012/03/14/a-perfect-introduction-to-kerri-culls-soak-from-kerri-herself/

I'm very glad I won Kerri Cull's collection of poems. I think they're great if your not sure about reading poetry or if you're not sure where to start. The poems form a narrative that's easy to enjoy