& they lived
LA FELLEMAN
Reviewed by Sam Campbell
LA Felleman’s debut chapbook, & they lived, is a refreshingly blunt collection that holds a mirror up to its readers, exploring the individual moments that make up a life: yours, mine, ours—anyone’s. Her poems seek to shine color and sound upon the canvas of existence—the humor, regret, and possibilities that fill our lives with meaning.
Felleman doesn’t shy away from experimentation in this collection, with several of her poems pushing convention. From caesural play in “Hum” and “Tossed,” to a poem-within-a-poem in “Imperceptible Forgiveness,” to using symbols as titles, Felleman aptly demonstrates her precision and control over language and form.
It is also worth noting the emotion that Felleman’s collection elicits; line-by-line, she hints at more than what is on the page, leading readers beyond their initial reactions. In “Bella,” the speaker reminisces about a puppy that she had loved, but that had been taken away from her: “your intent alerted my husband / You went back to the shelter the very next day. . .” (10). Within a few short lines, the poem opens up to reveal an entire subcontext regarding the dynamic between the speaker and their husband. What at first glance appears to be a nice poem about a dog suddenly balloons outward to become about love, marriage, regret, power, and how something as simple as a pet can serve as a symbol for all of this.
& they lived challenges the reader to evaluate who they are now, who they were in the past, and who they want to be in the future. It is a collection that will reveal the world to be more than what can be seen on the surface, and it will remind you that life is always in flux. After all, as Felleman puts it in “Postlapsarian,” “Younger me would have found your concern annoying / This-age me accepts your regard / As cherishing” (22).