Talking in the Dark (Push Poetry) | 
| Author: Billy Merrell
Publisher: Topeka Bindery
Category: Book
List Price: $17.60
Buy New: $13.73
You Save: $3.87 (22%)
Rating:  6 reviews
Media: Library Binding
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 136
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 5.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 0613720105
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.6
EAN: 9780613720106
ASIN: 0613720105
Publication Date: October 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 7 to 11 days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This is a memoir that is lived in moments. The moments you know - when you see your parents' marriage dissolving, when you realize you're a boy who likes boys, when you speak the truth and don't know if it will be heard. The moments you don't recognize until later - when you leave things unsaid (even to yourself), when you feel your boyfriend letting go, when you give up on love. And the moment you get love back. In an amazing narrative of poems, Billy Merrell tells an ordinary story in an extraordinary way.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
best book EVER!!! January 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book the first time a few years ago, and not I think I have read it about 5 times total. It is the one book I could keep reading and never get sick of! Awesome story with poems that make you giggle and poems that made you sad. Highly recommended!!!
AMAZING. The most Spiritual poetry book I've read! October 25, 2005
Dana G
The thing that a lot of people sometimes forget about poetry is that when it's good, the poems become a part of your soul. Poems lift you up when you need lifting and bring you down when you need grounding.
And this book is like that. Billy Merrell is a true poet and has the soul of a wise, wise man. And yet he's only 21! Amazing.
The poems here may be about homosexuality and family struggle, may contain drug use and have moments of sexual description, but Merrell knows that the poems aren't REALLY about these things. Instead, they are about transcending one's own childhood and one's own adolescence in order to find sanctuary in the spirits of our ancestors.
I can't recommend this book enough. Like 5 of my friends have borrowed my copy and have insisted they have their own. It's the kind of book you want to have propped up near your bed so you can read it just before you go to sleep.
why isn't it in more stores!? my favorite book! February 27, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
~*AMAZING*~ My girlfriend loved TALKING IN THE DARK and MADE me read it, which I don't usually do. She said I would like it because I like poetry, which is sort of true lately. But it took me months to find it in a store before my mom bought it online for me... since I don't have a credit cared, duh. But it's great. I haven't read anything like it before. And my girlfriend likes me to read her parts, especially SHHH and HISTORYS. Guys, buy this book for your girlfriends (or boyfriends).
 Touching life experiences with surprising vulnerability February 15, 2005
T. Burger (Chicago)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm a little confused as to this book's classification as YA. Sure, there were sections that dealt with his childhood, but the most straightforward, poignant, and powerful poems were those that dealt with very mature topics: specifically, *after* he graduated from high school.
Some of the poems, particularly those dealing with his friend Ben and the dissolution of his relationship, are very touching. Some are a little confusing, and I found myself backtracking to figure out who was being referred to in the poem, what the topic was, and its relevance in that particular place. Poetry, it seems, is intentionally misleading at times, and I find that to be an annoying characteristic.
That said, I myself have a wealth of experiences from elementary, junior high, and high school that are ripe for writing, as they are devastatingly powerful. In my own writing classes and seminars, teachers have literally begged me to write about them, rather than the "typical" YA that I'm working on, which is more fantasy based. The problem was, I didn't know how to do it. I didn't want to write a straightforward story, because the format just didn't seem right. This book has given me some insight onto how to put my experiences onto the page. So for that - I'm greatly indebted. (Especially if I get published. )
amazing January 24, 2005
Alana Star (Los Angeles, CA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
i read "talking in the dark" over a year ago and it has still stuck with me. even though this memoir is told through poetry, it is very easy to read and understand. you can really relate to what merrell has gone through. this book is definately an amazing undiscovered gem. i highly recommend it.
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