On the Occasion of a Wedding by Ollie Bowen

On the Occasion of a Wedding is a love-infused collection of poetry written by Ollie Bowen for two of her friends, as the title implies, on the occasion of their wedding. Broken up into four parts, this is an exquisite exploration of love and pain, fear for the future, and recycling of the past.

A heartfelt and subtly tender collection, there is a sense of intimacy behind every word. “Quanta Qualia” is a particularly haunting meditation on reality after love that must be read twice, while “Tears of the Poet” expresses the act of love between artists in a way few writers can capture.

Some of the poems veer towards the simplistic, but there is beauty in the bare bones, particularly when those moments are buttressed by far more complex and deeply probing verse. Bowen does not need to prove her depth in every poem, but instead creates a natural tide of power and pullback.

Just as so many of these poems harken back to nature as their inspiration or metaphorical guide, even the experience of reading is transportive. This collection may have began as a gift for her friends, but Bowen also succeeded in creating an eloquent group of poems that can be enjoyed by any lover of poetry, especially those who lean toward the romantic.

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