Come Closer and Listen

Come Closer and Listen presents Charles Simic's reflections through poems that merge everyday moments with larger questions of mortality and time. The collection maintains Simic's distinct style while exploring both personal memories and universal human experiences. The poems move between settings of ordinary life - coffee shops, city streets, quiet rooms - and spaces of dreams or contemplation. Simic's voice carries through each piece with observations that connect the mundane to the mystical. Memory serves as a central thread in the collection, as does the act of watching and waiting. The poems often pause in moments of stillness or transition, creating a sense of suspended time. This collection speaks to themes of impermanence and connection, suggesting that meaning can be found in small moments and chance encounters. Through spare language and precise images, the work explores how humans create significance in a transient world.

Readers note this collection exhibits Simic's dark humor and surreal imagery while exploring themes of aging and mortality. The poems are described as more personal and reflective compared to his previous works. Likes: - Concise, accessible language - Integration of dream-like elements with everyday observations - Dark comedy in poems about death and aging - Shorter length makes poems feel focused Dislikes: - Some readers found the collection less ambitious than earlier works - Several poems described as "slight" or underdeveloped - Repetitive themes throughout the book Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (126 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (21 reviews) From reviews: "The poems hit harder because they're stripped down" - Goodreads reviewer "Too many poems feel like quick sketches rather than finished works" - Amazon review "His humor about grim subjects gives the collection its strength" - Poetry Foundation reader comment

What Work Is by Philip Levine The poems document working-class life in Detroit through spare language and attention to the sacred moments within manual labor.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong These poems weave personal history with surreal imagery to explore themes of war, displacement, and family bonds.

The Book of Nightmares by Galway Kinnell The collection connects everyday experiences to deeper existential questions through a series of linked poems.

Time of Grief by Charles Simic These poems examine mortality and loss through dark humor and Eastern European folklore elements.

American Primitive by Mary Oliver The poems focus on observations of nature and mortality while connecting them to human experience through clear, direct language.

🌟 "Come Closer and Listen" was one of Charles Simic's final poetry collections, published in 2019, just a few years before his death in 2023 🌟 Simic served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2007-2008 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for his book "The World Doesn't End" 🌟 The poems in this collection reflect Simic's signature style of blending dark humor with surrealist imagery, often drawing from his experiences as a child during World War II in Belgrade 🌟 Many of the poems explore themes of aging and mortality, written when Simic was in his 80s, yet maintain his characteristic wit and playful approach to serious subjects 🌟 The collection's title comes from an intimate whisper-like invitation to readers, characteristic of Simic's poetry which often creates a sense of shared secrets between poet and reader