Andre Fenton Reviews Sue Sinclair’s Riveting Collection of Self-acceptance and Empathy
Almost Beauty
Sue Sinclair
Goose Lane Editions
Sue Sinclair’s latest work, Almost Beauty, is a poetic exploration of a wide range of topics spanning from mortality, love, nature, history, humanity and more. It is a versatile collection of over 100 poems. Throughout this collection, we are asked, and challenged to find the deeper meanings within ourselves, and in our surroundings, as we are reminded that nothing in this world is guaranteed.
Sinclair uses nature as a window to look deeper into ourselves, our insecurities and fears, as we come to understand that beauty can slip from us in the most unpredictable ways, no matter how hard we try to keep it within our grasp. These poems are a reminder that everything in our lives is temporary. We must understand these truths to accept ourselves honestly.
In Sinclair’s poem, “The Most Important Room in The World,” we are tasked to see, as Sinclair puts it: “The gift no one wants,” which is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, responsible for protecting global crop diversity. The life we see here is seeds—from wheat, pumpkins, spinach, and so much more. This life breathes beneath the cold floors and walls created to withstand disaster and catastrophe, and it is a reminder that life is not just surrounded by beauty, it can also exist inside steel walls, underneath mountains and inside plastic containers.
Sinclair writes, “The opposite of a tomb—Or is it?”
Sinclair also shows us the world through the eyes of a seeker, searching for ourselves in the most honest light possible. Sinclair writes in “The Prado:”
“I want a world that is trustworthy. I want to lay the best version of my faults at your feet as you do the same for me.”
This is a riveting collection of self-acceptance and profound empathy. Highly recommended for poetry readers.
Written By: