These poems are so relevant to today’s ever-changing coastal areas, and living near a (northern) coast, I see many of the same parallels to storms, huge mansions being built that will one day be surrounded by water, and all the feelings that go along with loving your home but knowing it may not be the safest place, geographically. While I could relate, some lines seemed too long or didn’t quite flow with the poems.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.* ( )

Heather Sellars poetry talks about ordinary life in an extraordinary place. A place where storms come every year, yet humans believe that this place is safe from the forces of nature. I was surprised at the peeks of familial relationships in the poems. Having recently dealt with my aging parents, now I am myself an aging parent. The cycles of humanity and nature go on and on.

It's been a while since I've read a poetry collection. It was a pleasant surprise to come upon "Field Notes from the Flood Zone". Other than the very first poem, I resonated with all of the poems in the book. Normally it's difficult for me to read a poetry collection without taking a day or two in between each poem. With this book I found an easy flow reading all of the poems.

I was interested in this book as I have been living in Florida for almost 3 years and am concerned about climate change. I found Heather Sellers writing relatable and easily immersible. Again I don't know what it is about the first poem that throws me off. It's the only one that felt so disjointed to me that I couldn't reread it. Perhaps that is the point.

I found so many themes in this poetry collection that I wasn't expecting such as our relationships to the material, mother-daughter, the water, and death. I received this book as part of the Early Reviewer's club. I will be keeping my copy to reread and recommending it to others. Thank you Heather Sellers for sharing your stories. ( )

Publisher's summary:

From the frontlines of climate catastrophe, a poet watches the sea approach her doorstep.

Born and raised in Florida, Heather Sellers grew up in an extraordinarily difficult home. The natural world provided a life-giving respite from domestic violence. She found, in the tropical flora and fauna, great beauty and meaningful connection. She made her way by trying to learn the name of every flower, every insect, every fish and shell and tree she encountered.

That world no longer exists.

In this collection of poems, Sellers laments its loss, while observing, over the course of a year, daily life of the people and other animals around her, on her street, and in her low-lying coastal town, where new high rises soar into the sky as the storm clouds gather with increasing intensity and the future of the community--and seemingly life as we know it--becomes more and more uncertain.

Sprung from her daily observation journals, haunted by ghosts from the past, Field Notes from the Flood Zone is a double love letter: to a beautiful and fragile landscape, and to the vulnerable young girl who grew up in that world. It is an elegy for the two great shaping forces in a life, heartbreaking family struggle and a collective lost treasure, our stunning, singular, desecrated Florida, and all its remnant beauty.

Review:

This book of poetry was easy to read and digest. However, I often felt that the author would write sentences down, like she were collecting them, then link them together even if they didn't feel connected to each other...resulting in a poem with one sentence that would feel tossed in and disconnected to all the rest. It would have felt tighter and flowed better lyrically without these extraneous inserts that could feel jarring. Regardless, this poetry collection is a pleasure to read and timely for the extreme weather and environmental situations we find ourselves in. 4 stars. (Early Reviewer) ( )