Stars in the Junkyard

Finished March 28

Stars in the Junkyard by Sharon Berg

This volume of poetry is one that speaks of many issues that we come across in her lives, from the author's own personal experience of them. It is split into four sections: Drawing Maps, Boundaries, Oracle, and Odyssey. The first poem in the book is the title poem and it links back to an experience in the author's childhood that became charged with meaning as she looks back. Many of the poems in this first section relate to family. Some are older relatives, remembered in different ways. Some are incidents of intimacy, held close in memory, and observed. Others originate in childhood: experiences, wishes, dreams, and thoughts. Near the end, many are dedicated to someone, referencing a relationship of sorts.

The second section with poems now centered in adulthood. Many of these near the beginning of the section are shorter than the ones in the first section. Some tell of moments, incidents, and feelings for people in her life. As we move on, the poems become longer and more centered on feelings and larger experiences. 

In Oracle, the poems are very personal, experiences and feelings, anger and resentment, loss and betrayal. Stories of love, becoming a mother, the maternal experiences that are like no other. Some speak of dreams and connections to others. 

In the last section, many are related to journeys as the heading hints at. These poems often speak of the wider world, of events that made large changes, in the ways that they impact on a variety of people and have influences that go a long ways. 

This is an interesting collection of poetry, where one gets a sense of the life of the author, of the things that matter to her, of choices she made, of events that impacted her life. This book makes the poetry into a type of memoir, touching at different points in the author's life. exposing her in intimate ways.