Remembrance of Beauty by Andrew Chiniche

Andrew Chiniche weaves a fictional poetic narrative about love, lust, and loss in Remembrance of Beauty, an experimental story steeped in psychological weight and erotic mystery.

This genre-defying collection of poetry lures readers deep into the story with its poignant subject matter, nebulous language, and philosophical wanderings, though it can be hard to track a discernible plot. The storyline is occasionally a thread connecting this poet’s disparate musings – mysterious houses with too much history, grief-filled men losing the women in their lives, eternal portraits, and symbol-laden figures all create a powerful atmosphere, but not necessarily a complete narrative. However, on their own, the poems occasionally surprise with their mood and insight, especially about lost love.

The poetic aspects of the work are somewhat lacking on the whole, as is the editorial rigor. Many of the pieces read like prose with enjambment added in purely for formatting purposes, and there is very limited use of imagery or unique descriptions. While this does allow readers to move through the work quickly, without spending much time analyzing intention, the poetic chapters can feel disjointed. There are also basic grammatical and spelling errors (e.g., “alludes” vs “eludes”), which gives the work an unpolished or incomplete feel.

While there are numerous elements that need improvement, this unusual poetic exploration is creative, and most certainly original.