Dancehall


Poetry - Love/Romance
90 Pages
Reviewed on 07/01/2024
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Author Biography

Tim Stobierski writes about relationships. His work explores themes of love, lust, longing, and loss — presented through the lens of his own experiences as a queer man. His poetry has been published in a number of journals, including the Connecticut River Review, Gay & Lesbian Review, and Midwest Quarterly. His first book of poems, Dancehall, was published by Antrim House Books in July 2023. An earlier chapbook, Chronicles of a Bee Whisperer, was published by River Otter Press in 2012.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

Immerse yourself in a romantic odyssey with this engrossing poetry collection. In Dancehall, Tim Stobierski offers readers a collection of poems that shed light on the various shades of love in a romantic relationship, from its ups and downs to everything in between. With the help of an unnamed narrator, the author tells a poetic story of love and all it entails through five acts. In Act 1, the poems show the beginnings of a relationship, where the narrator recounts the many firsts, including the first meeting, date, kiss, song, etc. As the narrative pushes forward through the following acts, it focuses on the evolution of the relationship and how the narrator goes through various emotions and feelings, such as falling in love, moments of intoxicating passion, yearning, loss, separation anxiety, and the toll taken by the passage of time.

Dancehall will appeal to any romance lover who enjoys poetry, regardless of gender, age (as an adult), or sexual orientation. Although this is a queer love story, I feel this collection will enthrall anyone who has ever fallen in love. The combination of Tim Stobierski's unique poetic flair and storytelling prowess ensures that you, as a reader, are completely immersed in the narrative. Stobierski paints a vivid portrait of a relationship, displaying its varying facets through free-verse poetic storytelling that feels authentic and tugs at your heartstrings. With this collection, you get a sense of how the dynamics of a relationship change over time. This is lyrical poetry at its finest. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and highly recommend this collection to all poetry lovers out there.