By Kaylie Seed
Reviewing poetry is not a simple feat as poets and poetry can play with the rules of grammar, punctuation, and layout. There are types of poems out there that are subject to certain rules such as a Haiku poem that needs to contain 17 syllables and will include 3 lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables that do not need to rhyme. Modern poetry however has taken tradition and thrown it out the window. Very rarely do we see poems that resemble traditional poetry and it is amazing to see. By moving tradition aside this allows modern poets to have an even broader platform to share their voice.
Spoken Word poet Sabrina Benaim published her debut collection of written poetry, Depression & Other Magic Tricks in August of 2017. This poetry collection contains 53 unique poems which all tell their individual stories while being part of a collective thought process throughout Depression & Other Magic Tricks. Benaim’s overarching theme is about mental health, specifically depression. She dives into describing how depression has made its way into her life and how it has impacted her. She does this with powerful and elegant prose. Benaim’s poems not only focus on depression and herself but they also talk about discussing depression with loved ones and opening up to her doctor about her depression - something that can be just as difficult as reaching out to family. For anyone who has read The Upside of Being Down by Jen Gotch, they will appreciate Benaim using her mental illness as a way to channel her creativity which is admirable. When poets choose topics that speak powerfully to them, they are able to ignite a creative spark. Benaim’s spoken word poetry is just as phenomenal as her written work and I cannot wait to see what she has to bring to the table in her future poetry.