Book Review – Lost in the Hours

Lost in the Hours by River Dixon

I read this book in paperback. This is an unsolicited review.

River Dixon’s third book of poetry found me, as the title goes, lost in the hours between both reading and ruminating deeper thoughts. I’m a huge fan of his work, both his poetry as well as his stories. It’s no surprise where he comes up with his blog name: The Stories In Between. For he is a master storyteller and his poetry seems to tell all the stories in between all the lines. Just as much the world in the words as what’s left unsaid, the unspoken words in between.

I took my time nice and slow with this book. I had to. Each piece was one to be savored. As the writer of his introduction said, you wonder if Mr. Dixon could maybe just once put out something merely average. Something without the sting of a savant’s perfect chords. Something that looks like maybe he worked hard to achieve the masterful lines. But no. Every piece is deep and wide. Varied and flavorful. Yet, somehow accessible.

Simply put, I lost track of how many I just shook my head, how profound! how wise! how true! I found myself speaking to the words. “Oh man.” “Yes!” “That’s it exactly.” Or the more common silent jaw-drop. Why, you ask? Because his words stir up that much wisdom in the human condition. The past hurts haunting. The never measuring up to the stick that ever grows longer. The betrayal by those who should love us the most. The love from those who should love us the least. The comfort and the heartache. It’s all here.

I am absolutely in love with this collection. I dog-eared at least twenty poems, those that got a better than A+ grade from me. I won’t name them all but randomly a few favorites were: Molded; Something About Today; Lost in the Hours; Strangers; I Understand Goodbye; and What They Don’t See. Mr. Dixon ends the book with a whopper of a 17-page poem, a dream of sorts which I think is really speaking about the struggle within. Incredible writing throughout and he gets the coveted the-perfect-book-for-me 5-stars. It just doesn’t get better than this. From length to content, to all points in between. Highly, highly recommended reading.

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be a good writer: read.
~tara caribou

**If this review was helpful or you’ve read it and want to add to the discussion, please let me know in the comments!

I will also, as a side-note, say, it may seem that I am harsh on many writers for their editing, formatting, grammar, punctuation, etc. I do so unapologetically. One, because this is a review, not a popularity contest. Two, because honest criticism should help us grow as artists.

The fact of the matter is, these things MATTER. A mathematician must use his tools and use them correctly to be an effective mathematician. A surgeon cannot simply say, “I know I can’t sew the wound closed but at least I could remove the appendix or whatever it’s called.” Same with writers. We can’t claim to be writers but refuse to use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. We can’t claim to be a photographer just because we know how to push the button on the camera (or phone). There’s an art to it.

So while I may appreciate the artist as a person and their words, I believe that it does us all a disservice to say lower quality editing is okay. Believe in yourself! Believe in the power of your words! Put the effort into being the very best you can be. Ask for help. Grow and learn.